AP High Court issues order on local body elections, asks three govt. officials to meet SEC

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday has issued key directions on the conduction of local body elections to be held in the state. It has asked the three Principal Secretary level officials to meet State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar within three days from today. On the other hand, with the state government is given not holding elections under the current circumstances due to the coronavirus, the court ordered authorities to explain the details to Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar.

The court also clarified that Nimmagadda will inform them where they had to meet. However, the High Court said that if the talks between the state government and the SEC are not settled yet, the arguments will be heard in the court again.

It is known that the SEC is contemplating to hold local body elections in the state in February 2021 while the state government has filed a petition in the high court challenging the proceedings. The petition has been re-investigated and the government has filed an affidavit on this. Andhra Pradesh has decided not to hold elections in February as the corona vaccination process is about to begin. Meanwhile, the SEC filed counter-affidavit for which the government lawyer said that he would reply on behalf of the government.

He said the covid vaccine would be available in two to three months and the state government was making arrangements to give the vaccine to the people as per the center's guidelines. He explained that the entire government machinery will be busy in that program. The lawyer explained that the reasons they were giving for not holding the election in February were very serious.