Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Goa government today sought additional time to file its reply in the ongoing petition challenging the reservation process for the upcoming Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections. The High Court granted the state time until November 25 to submit its affidavit.
During the hearing, the petitioners urged the Court to restrain the State Election Commission (SEC) from announcing the ZP election schedule until the government files its reply.
Responding to these concerns, the Advocate General assured the Court that the SEC would not declare the election dates before November 25.
The matter has been posted for the next hearing after the state submits its response.
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has issued notice to the Goa State Election Commission (SEC) after a petition challenged the State government’s decision to reserve the Anjuna Zilla Panchayat (ZP) constituency in North Goa for the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The notice seeks the SEC’s response on the legality and rationale of the reservation notified on November 6.
The petition argues that Anjuna was reserved for women in the 2020 ZP elections and that the shift to OBC reservation in the new cycle lacks justification. The High Court will hear the matter on Saturday, placing the reservation roster under judicial scrutiny just weeks before the December 13 polls.
The challenged notification outlines the reservation framework for all 50 ZP constituencies across the State, with 20 seats earmarked for OBC, Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) categories, and 18 seats — nine in each district — reserved for women, including those from OBC and ST communities.
ZP elections will be held on party lines, with 25 seats each in North and South Goa. The State Election Commission is expected to release the formal poll schedule later this week, after which the Model Code of Conduct will come into force.
