Summary
More than two months after the December 2022 elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi no Mayor had been elected, and a mayoral candidate petitioned under Article 32. The Lieutenant Governor and the Corporation contended that members nominated under Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 could vote at the first meeting electing the Mayor and that all elections should be held together. The Supreme Court allowed the petition: the proviso to Article 243R(2) and the proviso to Section 3(3)(b)(i) deny nominated members a vote at meetings of the Corporation, including the first meeting; under Regulations 7 and 8 of the 1958 Business Regulations the Mayor is elected first and then presides over the elections of the Deputy Mayor and Standing Committee, where the same bar applies; notice of the first meeting was to issue within twenty-four hours.
Issues
- Whether members nominated to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 for their special knowledge of municipal administration may vote at the first meeting of the Corporation at which the Mayor is elected.
- Whether the election of the Mayor must precede, and the Mayor preside over, the elections of the Deputy Mayor and members of the Standing Committee.
Provisions considered
- Article 243R(1) and (2) with proviso, Constitution of IndiaAll seats in a Municipality are filled by direct election save for the representation the State legislature may provide for persons with special knowledge of municipal administration and others, and the proviso denies such nominated persons the right to vote in the meetings of the Municipality; Section 3(3) of the Act is a law made under this Article and carries the same restriction. (¶¶ 6, 7, 8, 11)
- Sections 3(3)(b)(i) with proviso, 35, 73 and 77, Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957Nominated members have no right to vote in meetings of the Corporation; the first meeting after a general election, convened by the Administrator, is the meeting at which the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected under Section 35, and the prohibition applies to it as to every other meeting. (¶¶ 2, 3, 10, 11)
- Regulations 6, 7 and 8, Delhi Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1958As soon as the Mayor is elected he presides over the rest of the meeting, and the election of the Deputy Mayor is conducted with the Mayor as presiding authority, so the Mayor's election must be held first. (¶ 12)
Held
- The argument that the voting restriction applies only to regular meetings transacting business and not to the first meeting cannot be accepted; the Constitution values the nominated members' experience but withholds the vote at all meetings of the Corporation, a reading consistent with the three-Judge decision in Ramesh Mehta v. Sanwal Chand Singhvi, and with the Delhi Government's own notification of 2 February 2023 that the Mayor would be elected first and then conduct the other elections. (¶¶ 11, 13, 14, 15)
Result
Writ petition allowed; directions issued that at the first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi the Mayor be elected first without the nominated members voting, that the elected Mayor preside over the elections of the Deputy Mayor and Standing Committee members at which the same prohibition applies, and that notice convening the first meeting be issued within twenty-four hours; pending application disposed of.