In a setback to the state government, the circuit bench of Karnataka High Court on Tuesday struck down an order on supercession of Belgaum City Corporation.
The government had superceded the civic body in December 2011 on grounds that the urban local body did not function as per provisions of Karnataka Municipal Act, and that it had ignored advisories issued from time to time. In his order, Justice Mohan Shantangoud said the government order was in clear violation of section 243 (U) of the Constitution of India as no opportunity was given to 58 corporators to express their opinion prior to supersession.
The court ordered the government to convene a meeting of these corporators in Zilla Panchayat hall, Belgaum, on June 25 to discuss all 20 irregularities of the local body on that day. The order was passed on a writ petition filed by Sanjeev Prabhu and 24 other corporators challenging the decision of the government to supercede the civic body.
The corporation was dissolved on December 15, 2011, by the government following pressure from pro-Kannada organizations across the state. These organizations demanded action against Mayor Manda Balekundri for participating in an anti-Karnataka rally organised by Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) on November 1. Subsequently, the government appointed the deputy commissioner of Belgaum as administrator of the urban civic body. In their petition, the corporators pleaded that the government could dissolve the corporation only in the event of it becoming non-functional. They stated that most of the developmental projects launched by the corporation were implemented effectively, and that there were no strong grounds for dissolution.