Uttarakhand High Court Disposes PIL Against Use of Mandi Site For Assembly Elections; Orders DM To Decide Matter In 10 Days

The Uttarakhand High Court recently disposed of a Public Interest Litigation seeking a direction to the State not to acquire or take over the Naveen Mandi Sthal (marketplace) for upcoming Assembly Elections.

The plea also sought directions to ensure that no interference is caused in the mandi area's sale and purchase of agricultural produces.

Filed through Advocate Prabha Naithani, it was argued that, like every year, this year also, the Naveen Mandi Sthal is being used for sale and purchase of agricultural produce, and if the entire Mandi is taken over for elections, then the poor agriculturists and horticulturists will face insurmountable difficulty.

The petitioner also informed the Court that the entire Mandi was not taken over for election the previous year. Rather, a portion of the same was left for the operation of the agriculturists.

A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra and Justice Alok Kumar Verma observed that the respondents were not able to provide appropriate instructions. Therefore, the application was dismissed with the liberty to the petitioner to file a fresh representation along with a certified copy of the order. The Bench directed,

"It will be proper if the petitioner submit a copy of the brief before the District Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar / District Election Officer, Udham Singh Nagar, for his consideration. In such an event, the Opposite Party No. 2 shall consider the representation of the petitioner, and after affording a reasonable opportunity of hearing to the petitioner and similarly situated persons, and having considered the grievances of the petitioner dispose of the representation of the petitioner by way of a speaking and reasonable order. The Opposite Party No. 2 shall be at liberty to have a physical verification of the spot."

The Court also directed the petitioner to submit a copy of the writ application along with a certified copy of this order, as directed earlier, within five days to the District Magistrate. The DM is to take a decision thereon within ten days after that, as per the directions of the Court.

Case Title: Amandeep Singh v. State of Uttarakhand & Ors.

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Utt) 2

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