The Kerala High Court upheld the government's decision to increase the minimum number of panchayat seats from 13 to 14, and the maximum from 23 to 24.
Similarly, the court approved the increase in municipality ward numbers, raising the minimum from 25 to 26 and the maximum from 52 to 53.
Court determined that the decisions regarding the formation or alteration of local bodies are matters of government policy and are thus outside the scope of judicial interference.
The petitioners argued that the amendments violated Article 243C of the Constitution, which they interpreted as requiring a uniform population-to-seat ratio across the state.
The court rejected the petitioners' interpretation of Article 243C, stating that the amendments did not violate the constitutional scheme.
The court found no evidence that the seat increases were against the basic structure of the Constitution or the constitutional rules for local self-government elections.
The government cited financial constraints as the reason for not creating new local bodies, which the court accepted.
The court also rejected the argument that the delimitation process based on the new amendments was illegal.
COMMENTS