Cuttack, Friday, 03 February 2012: Orissa High Court today completed the hearing on a petition challenging State Election Commission (SEC) notification debarring lower-rung panchayat poll candidates from using party symbols and fixed Friday as the day for pronouncing its ruling.

The bench of Justice S K Mishra, which had on Wednesday slapped an interim stay on the operation of the January 19 notification of SEC after admitting the petition by a Balasore-based sarpanch candidate, also extended the stay till the ruling on the petition was pronounced.

Counsel for SEC, Pitambar Acharya told the court that so far as the rules governing the panchayat polls are concerned the Commission had rightly kept ward members, sarpanchs and panchayat samiti members away from political affiliation.

“The Commission is well within its ambit and provisions to keep these elections of people’’s representatives apolitical and ensure a free and fair election as enshrined under Article 243 (k) of the Constitution,” argued Acharya.

Refuting the contention of the petitioner that the SEC notification infringes the Right to freedom, he said contesting an election is not a fundamental right. “Instead, it is a statutory right.”
(News agency)