Amaravati (AP): In a blow to the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday struck down an Ordinance promulgated on April 10 curtailing the tenure of the State Election Commissioner from five to three years.
Though there was no official response from the government to the verdict, the ruling party said it would challenge it in the Supreme Court, maintaining that the Ordinance was issued in accordance with the Constitutional provisions.
The court also quashed a Government Order appointing retired judge V Kanagaraj as the new State Election Commissioner.
It restored retired bureaucrat Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar as the SEC.
Justice VKanagaraj, a retired judge of the Madras High Court, had assumed charge as the SEC on April 11, replacing Ramesh Kumar.
The High Court delivered the judgment on a batch of writ petitions, including the one by the aggrieved Ramesh Kumar, challenging the Ordinance and the appointment of a new SEC.
"The court ruled that the state government did not have the authority to curtail the tenure of the SEC. It also set aside the appointment of the new SEC. The court considered all our arguments in this regard," senior advocate Jandhyala Ravi Shankar, who appeared on behalf of one of the petitioners, said.
Hailing the court verdict, the opposition parties termed it as a "slap" on the face of the "dictatorial" government of Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
BJP state vice-president S Vishnuvardhan Reddy, Jana Sena president K Pawan Kalyan and Telugu Desam Party state president K Kala Venkata Rao welcomed the judgement and said the High Court has "saved democracy."
"This should be an eye-opener to Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has been displaying arrogance over winning 151 Assembly seats.
The courts have found fault with his government's decisions at least 65 times till now.
The latest verdict proved that dictatorial tendencies will not be tolerated in a democracy," Venkata Rao said in a statement.
TDP Deputy leader in the Assembly, Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary said in a statement that the Governor too erred in promulgating the Ordinance.
"The Governor should have restrained the governments action that was against the Constitution," he noted.
The Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan wanted the YSRC government to respect the HC verdict and the Constitution and immediately reinstate Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar as the SEC.
"The government should realize at least now that it is bound to function within the Constitution and the law and take decisions accordingly.
Otherwise, the judiciary will protect the democratic system from monopolistic and dictatorial tendencies," Kalyan said.
Meanwhile, YSRC MLA and spokesman Ambati Rambabu said the party respects the High Court verdict.
"We will consult legal experts and challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
The Ordinance was issued in accordance with the constitutional provisions as part of electoral reforms," he said.
