The Andhra Pradesh high court on Monday suspended the schedule announced by state election commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar for the conduct of the local body elections in the state in February.
This is perhaps for the first time that Nimmagadda received a big jolt in the state high court. It is also a big morale booster to the YSR Congress party government headed by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has been waging a legal battle against Nimmagadda all these months.
The high court observed that the SEC had not taken an objective decision in announcing the schedule of elections to gram panchayats in four phases in February, without taking into consideration the objections of the government.
The high court expressed view that the election process for gram panchayats would hamper the vaccination programme. The SEC had not objectively considered the view of the government and had approached the subject matter in its own domain, it said.
“In the interests of public health, the impugned orders are suspended,” the court ordered.