The Court upheld that consecutive reservations for electoral posts violate principles of rotation as enshrined in electoral statutes.

JUDGMENT

The above writ petition is filed with following prayers :

i. “To declare that Exhibit P1 gazette notification to the extent the post of president of Vijayapuram Grama Panchayath is reserved for the 3rd consecutive time is unconstitutional and against law and liable to be set aside by this Hon’ble Court.

ii. To set aside Ext P1 to the extent the post of president of Vijayapuram Grama panchayath is reserved for women.

iii. To direct the respondents to pass orders to the effect that the post of president of the 6th respondent grama panchayath is to befrom the general category for the election of the year 2025 to maintain the rotation.

iv. To dispense with the production of English translation of Vernacular documents v. To grant such other reliefs as this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper. [sic]

2. The main prayer in this writ petition is against Ext.P1 notification to the extent the post of President of Vijayapuram Grama Panchayat is reserved for women for the 3^rd consecutive time is illegal and to set aside the same. The petitioner appeared in person before this Court. The petitioner submitted that this ward is consecutively reserved for three times. Therefore, if this is continued, the petitioner's right to contest in the President's election will be infringed. The petitioner submitted that even as per the law, the reservation cannot be continued for three consecutive times. The Standing Counsel appearing for the Election Commission raised a preliminary objection regarding the entertainment of this writ petition now because the election is already declared. But, the petitioner submitted that the election is only declared and the notification has not come. It is also submitted that before declaring the election itself, the petitioner filed this writ petition.

3. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the Kerala State Election Commission and the learned Special Government Pleader.

4. A preliminary objection is raised by the Standing Counsel appearing for the State Election Commission stating that this Court cannot entertain the prayers in this Writ Petition in the light of the dictum laid down by this Court in State of Kerala and Others v. Noufal Babu E.K. and Others [2020 KHC 5613]. It is submitted that the general election for the year 2025 has already been declared. I will consider that point first.

5. Admittedly, the State Election Commission declared the general election to the local bodies for the year 2025 on 10.11.2025. The election is scheduled to be conducted on 09.12.2025 and 11.12.2025. Whether this Court can interfere in such situation is the question to be decided. In Noufal Babu’s case (supra), this Court considered the matter in detail. To know the facts of the case, I will extract paragraph No.1 and to know the dictum laid down in the judgment, I will extract paragraph No.70 of the above judgment:

“1. The writ appeals are filed by the State and its officials, and the Kerala State Election Commission as captioned above, challenging the judgments dated 16-11- 2020, 19.11.2020 and 20.11.2020 rendered by the learned single Judge in various writ petitions, whereby the learned single Judge allowed the writ petitions and directed the Kerala State Election Commission to recast the reservation by rotation to the office of the President and Chairpersons of the local bodies in question, pursuant to the notifications issued by the State Election Commission dated 03.11.2020 in that regard, which is a process of the General Elections notified by the State Election Commission. Though one of the writ petitions was filed earlier to the notification issued by the State Election Commiss