Shillong, Oct 8: The Meghalaya High Court on Thursday deferred hearing of a petition against the recent amendments to election rules in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) due to an adjournment sought by the petitioner’s counsel.
The counsel informed the court that Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid, who is leading the petitioner’s legal team, could not appear due to personal difficulties.
The petition challenges the constitutional validity of the amendments made under the Sixth Schedule framework governing GHADC elections.
It specifically questions the candidate eligibility criteria under sub-clause 3D, as well as provisions relating to elector qualifications and adult suffrage under Paragraph 2 of the rules.
The petitioner has contended that the amendments are ultra vires the Constitution of India.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the court was also informed that a separate but related petition challenging similar amendments concerning voter and candidate eligibility has already been filed on behalf of electors.
The petitioner’s counsel sought to have the two matters clubbed together for a joint hearing.
Taking note of the absence of the senior counsel and the submission regarding the related petition, the High Court granted the adjournment and fixed the matter for October 29.
