New Delhi, Jul 17 The Supreme Court has said that nominated members appointed in municipalities are not entitled to vote in legislative council elections, dismissing the appeal of BJP's Karnataka Legislative Council (KLC) member Pranesh M K against the recounting of votes in the 2021 polls.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, in an order pronounced on Thursday, said 12 nominated members appointed in four town panchayats under the Karnataka Municipalities Act (KMA) were ineligible to vote and were not entitled to be in the electoral rolls of the legislative council elections.
"We are of the view that the nominated members appointed under Section 352(1)(b) of the KMA were not entitled to be included in the electoral roll prepared for the Local Authorities' Constituency and their inclusion was contrary to the constitutional scheme and cannot be sustained in law," the top court said in its verdict.
Pranesh was elected as an MLC by a narrow victory margin of six votes after 12 nominated members of four town panchayats voted in his favour.
The bench said the crucial question is whether people who are not allowed by the Constitution to vote in municipal matters can still vote in elections for members of the legislative council.
"In our considered view, the answer must necessarily be in the negative," the bench said, adding that if Article 171(3)(a) of the Constitution was to be interpreted literally so as to include nominated members, an unreasonable consequence would follow.
The bench said the Constitution should not be interpreted in a way that creates such contradictions and the courts need to contextually interpret the provisions in order to further the constitutional objective, that is, democratic representation.
"The purpose of Article 171(3)(a) is not just to give representation to local authorities as institutions, but to ensure representation of democratically elected local self-governing bodies in the legislative council. Since nominated members are not democratically elected and cannot vote in municipal affairs, allowing them to participate in legislative council elections would dilute the democratic nature of the electoral process and go against the constitutional objective of strengthening local self-government," the top court said.
It further said that the court was in agreement with the view taken by the high court that nominated members appointed under Section 352(1)(b) of the KMA were not entitled to be included in the electoral roll prepared for the local authorities' constituency and their inclusion was contrary to the constitutional scheme and could not be sustained in law.
The bench said the court cannot overlook this constitutional violation simply by saying that the electoral roll had become final.
"It is true that finality of electoral rolls is important to ensure certainty and stability in elections, however, it cannot override the Constitution. The principle of finality is meant to prevent endless challenges to electoral rolls, but it cannot be used to validate the participation of persons who were found constitutionally ineligible in collateral proceedings to constitute the electorate itself," it said.
The top court upheld the view taken by the single judge and the division bench of the high court, declaring the inclusion of the 12 nominated members in the electoral roll to be unconstitutional in judgments dated January 3, 2022 and April 20, 2023 respectively.
"The reasoning adopted by the high court is fully consistent with the constitutional objective of preserving democratic governance through elected representatives. No perversity, manifest illegality or jurisdictional error has been demonstrated, warranting interference under Article 136 of the Constitution," it said.
The elections to the KLC from 12-Chikkamagaluru Local Authorities Constituency (2021) were notified on November 16, 2021.
Polling took place on December 10, 2021 and counting was conducted on December 14, 2021. Out of 2,410 votes polled, 2,371 votes were held valid.
Pranesh secured 1,188 votes, including the votes of nominated members, while Congress candidate A V Gayathri bagged 1,182 votes, and Pranesh was declared elected by a narrow margin of six votes.
The constituency comprised members of various local bodies, including zilla panchayat, taluk panchayat, municipal councils and town panchayats.
In four town panchayats, namely, Koppa, Mudigere, Sringeri and Narasimharajapura, three members each were nominated by the Karnataka government under Section 352(1)(b) of the KMA, 1964, resulting in a total of 12 nominated councillors, whose names were included in the electoral rolls.
Post declaration of results, the inclusion and voting rights of the nominated members became the subject matter of challenge.
The matter reached the high court, which, on April 20, 2023, held that nominated members do not have the right to vote in legislative council elections.
In January, 2025, the high court directed the securing and opening of ballot boxes, segregation of ballot papers pertaining to the 12 nominated members and recounting of votes after excluding such votes, to be completed within a stipulated time.
Pranesh moved the top court challenging the high court orders.
