The Telangana High Court division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Ghouse Meera Mohiuddin on Thursday dismissed a writ challenging Section 21(3) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018.

The provision disqualifies persons having more than two children from contesting the local body elections. The petition, filed by Uppu Veeranna and another from Kandi mandal (Sangareddy district), sought to strike down the section on constitutional grounds.

However, the court upheld validity of the provision, relying on the Supreme Court ruling in Javed vs. State of Haryana (2003). The apex court held that the right to contest an election is not a fundamental right; such disqualifications do not infringe upon fundamental freedoms, such as the right to practice a profession or occupation. The bench noted the previous HC rulings on similar petitions, which had reached the same conclusion.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners Vijay Gopal contended that unlike the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, which had received the President’s assent, the Telangana PR Act was only assented to by the Governor.

The court, however, found no merit in the argument and dismissed the petition, reaffirming the constitutional validity of the two-child norm in the local body elections.

Court dismisses petition on JH by-election nomination

The HC division bench on Thursday dismissed a writ seeking a direction to the returning officer of the Jubilee Hills constituency to accept a candidate’s nomination for the by-election. It observed the court could not entertain the petition at this stage, as the election process had already commenced.

It also referred to earlier orders passed on similar petitions, emphasising judicial restraint during the electoral process.

The petition was filed by Mulya Sanjeevulu, a social worker from Sangareddy, who challenged the RO’s decision to reject his nomination. He had sought a directive to the RO to accept and process his nomination.

However, the court reaffirmed that once the election process was underway, disputes related to nominations must be addressed through the proper election petition after the polls.