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The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Allahabad High Court order directing the Uttar Pradesh government to hold urban local body polls without reservation for the OBCs. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, and directed that a panel appointed by the state government will have to decide the OBC quota related issues for the local bodies poll by March 31, 2023. The top court permitted the state government to appoint administrators to run the affairs of the local bodies after the expiry of the tenure of the elected representatives. It, however, said the administrators will not be empowered to take major policy decisions. The top court had earlier agreed to hear the Uttar Pradesh government's appeal challenging the high court order quashing its draft notification on urban local body elections and directing it to hold the polls without reservation f
The Supreme Court has rebuked the Uttar Pradesh government over an inordinate delay of 1,173 days in filing a petition against a judgement of the Allahabad High Court and that too with "incorrect particulars", saying a State litigation cannot be taken "so casually". While rejecting the plea with a cost of Rs 1 lakh, the apex court said it has no doubt that such matters are filed in a "cursory manner" so the petitions are dismissed. It also chastised the state government over the "casual manner" in which the application seeking condonation of delay was filed. "We are left with no doubt that such matters are filed in a cursory manner to somehow seek a certification of dismissal by the Supreme Court. We thoroughly disapprove such a practice and feel necessary to impose costs on the petitioners," a bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy said. The state of Uttar Pradesh and others had challenged the May 2019 verdict of the high court which enhanced the compensation to a
BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at the Uttar Pradesh government for neither postponing the Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) nor making "adequate transport arrangements" for students to reach exam centres in flood-affected areas of the state. "Ground realities are perhaps not visible from aerial surveys," he said, in an apparent dig at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who had recently surveyed the flood-hit areas. The Pilibhit MP said the state is in the "grip" of floods and over 37 lakh students are out to take the PET exam. For the students, reaching the examination centre is a bigger challenge than solving the question paper, he claimed. Gandhi said the PET was neither postponed nor adequate arrangements were made for the students to reach exam centres despite constant demands from them. He also posted pictures of railway stations and trains crowded with students.
The swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected BJP government in Uttar Pradesh will be held in the state capital on March 25. The ceremony will take place at the Ikana stadium at 4 pm of March 25, a senior official said. The BJP won 255 seats in the 403-member assembly and its allies won 18 other seats paving way for the return to power for the second consecutive term. Elections in UP were held in seven phases and results were declared on March 10.