Jaipur: Rajasthan High Court Monday declined to defer the election for chairperson of Tijara Municipal Council but said newly elected councillors could not be prevented from exercising their statutory right to vote according to their free will.The order was passed by Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand on a petition filed by elected Ward 33 councillor and chairperson candidate Ramavatar Saini.Saini approached the court alleging that some councillors supporting him had been illegally detained by police to prevent them from voting in his favour. He sought police protection for himself and the councillors, safe passage to the election venue and postponement of the poll until the allegedly detained councillors were released.Saini’s counsel, Punit Singhvi, alleged that certain councillors supporting the petitioner had been detained on the instructions of Baba Balaknath, BJP MLA from Tijara, and Subhash Saini, a candidate for the chairperson’s post.Singhvi told the court that the petitioner had received a video in which a councillor alleged that he and others had been detained. A complaint was also submitted to the Sub-Divisional Officer, Tijara.The state disputed the allegations, submitting that Rajasthan Police was not involved in the alleged detention. Advocate General Rajendra Prasad informed the court that the complaint had been forwarded by the returning officer to State Election Commission, which ordered a discreet inquiry through Additional District Magistrate, Bhiwadi. The report was due by 1:30 pm on Monday.The state also submitted that the video suggested the councillors were being detained in Panchkula, Haryana, and said a habeas corpus petition could be filed before Punjab and Haryana High Court, if required.The HC, citing Supreme Court judgments, said courts generally should not interfere once an election process has commenced, and that election disputes could be raised through the appropriate mechanism after the poll.However, it made it clear that no authority or individual could deprive newly elected councillors of their right to cast their votes according to their free will.The court said the vote was a statutory right and a basic feature of democracy. It said Chief Election Commissioner could take a decision in accordance with law after considering the inquiry report.
