Jabalpur High Court, on Monday, issued notice to the state government asking it why all the appointments of aldermen made in contravention of rules should not be cancelled. The notice was issued on a PIL filed by Vinayak Parihar of Narsinghpur by a bench comprising justices Rajendra Menon and Anjali Palo.
The petitioner contended that the appointments of aldermen in municipal corporations, municipal committees and nagar panchayats in the state were made in violation of the provisions of MP Municipal Corporation and Municipal Committee Acts.
The petitioner said Section 9(1)(C) of Municipal Corporation Act and section 19(1)(c) of Municipal Committee Act provisioned that persons appointed as aldermen should have experience of municipal administration. However, this stipulation was not followed while making any of the appointments. He said instead of knowledgeable persons, BJP leaders had been appointed aldermen all over the state.
The petitioner quoted the examples of Bhopal Municipal Corporation and of the municipal committees and nagar panchayats of Narsinghpur district to buttress his point.
After hearing the counsel for the petitioner, the court ordered issuance of notices to the chief secretary, principal secretary, urban administration and collectors of Bhopal and Narsinghpur districts. They have been asked to reply within four weeks.
