Court orders Hyderabad civic polls by December 15

Hyderabad, April 27 : The Hyderabad High Court on Monday directed the Telangana government to hold elections for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) by December 15.

The court asked the government to complete the delimitation of wards and reservation process by October 31.

The state government sought more than six months to hold the polls but the court refused to give more time.

The government argued that Greater Hyderabad is bigger than Singapore and hence it needs time to conduct the polls.

The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar, however, observed that since the civic body is already under the rule of special officer, the elections cannot be delayed further.

The court was dealing with a public interest litigation filed by the Forum for Good Governance, challenging the inaction of the state government even after the expiry of the elected council of the GHMC.

The court on April 17 rapped the government for delaying the elections and sought an explanation for seeking 249 days to hold the polls.

The term of the elected GHMC ended in December last year.