Sushree Mohanty
The Bombay High Court has issued notice to the Urban Development Department (UDD), the formal government of Maharashtra, to rethink its decision to proceed with the general body conferences and meeting of companies, corporations, municipal councils and Nagar panchayats through video call conferences or online mode.
The High Court gave out the notification while hearing two petitions moved by the council of Thane Municipal Corporation against the Urban Development Department decision and requested that they file their response before the court by February 23, 2021.
The matter is listed for further hearing on February 23, 2021.
The two bench judges comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni were hearing the petitions documented by Vikrant Chavan and Ashraf Pathan and were looking for bearings to the state government to allow general body meetings in the stipulated physical form.
Advocate Saurabh Butala, appearing on behalf of Chavan, alluded to the January 31, 2021 decision of the Centre which permitted film complexes/theatres/multiplexes to work at full capacity in non-containment zones and by abiding to the COVID-19 guidelines.
“Taking into account this, there could scarcely be any conceivable explanation regarding why the overall body gatherings can’t be led in the actual presence of all the councillors, all the more so thinking about that lone 131 Councillors of the Thane Municipal Corporation would be needed to execute the matter of the gathering.”, he argued.
Advocate SM Oak, appearing on behalf of Pathan, highlighted a letter drafted by Thane Municipal Corporation Mayor to the state government on December 9, 2020, wherein he had looked for consents to direct the general body meeting at theatres in Thane.
He emphasized on the matter that the letter had assured of taking adequate steps to prevent the councillors from contracting Covid-19 and would be following all the standard precautionary measures.
The advocate additionally notified the Court that the Parliament meeting was held with the physical audience and the Maharashtra state assembly had likewise conducted its meeting in the physical mode.
The judges accepting the submissions of the council stated that the COVID-19 cases have been in control for the past month and therefore working conditions in physical mode are starting to be resumed.
They added that “The secretariat, Courts and local bodies are also performing their statutory duties. As submitted by the state Thane Municipal Corporation area does not have any containment zone. In view thereof, we are of the considered opinion that there could hardly be any justification for not allowing the General Body meetings to be held in the physical presence of all the Councillors.”
