Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the state government’s repeated failure to file a reply in a case challenging the validity of a key provision of the MP Municipalities (Election Petition) Rules, 1962.
A division bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi issued strict directions after noting that despite multiple extensions over the past year, the Urban Administration and Housing Department had still not submitted its response in the matter. The court observed that the petition involves an important challenge to the vires of Rule 19(2) of the 1962 Rules and relates to an election dispute, yet the State had taken no concrete steps to file its reply.
According to the order, notice was first issued to the State on November 8, 2024. Subsequent extensions were granted on January 17, 2025; April 7, 2025; and September 24, 2025 -- with the court warning that the petition might be decided without the government’s reply if delays continued. Even then, on Wednesday, the state’s counsel again sought additional time.
The bench noted that the delay was also holding up the petitioner’s related civil revision pending under the MP Municipalities Act, 1961, concerning rejection of an election petition. “Despite the fact that the instant matter relates to election issue and vires is also under challenge, no response has been filed,” the order stated.
The High Court has now directed the principal secretary (urban administration and housing department) to appear before the court via video conferencing on January 13, 2026. The officer has been asked to explain why no reply has been filed despite repeated correspondence from the Advocate General’s office and to identify who is responsible for the prolonged delay.
