The State Election Commission has countermanded the elections to four constituencies at Byluru village [which falls under the Sindigeri Gram Panchayat] in Kurugodu taluk of Ballari district, where the members were elected unopposed through an illegal auction.
Based on the recommendations of Ballari Deputy Commissioner S.S. Nakul, State Election Commissioner B. Basavaraju, exercising the powers conferred under Article 243-K of the Constitution read with Section 308 of the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Act 199 and Karnataka Panchayat (Conduct of Elections) Rules 1993, passed an order on Thursday declaring the four constituencies countermanded with immediate effect.
He also directed the Ballari Deputy Commissioner to give effect to this order immediately and report compliance to the State Election Commission.
As per the enquiry conducted by the model code of conduct team, comprising Kurugodu Deputy Tahsildar Yakub Ali and Kolur Hobli Revenue Inspector Karisiddappa, a few prominent people of Byluru village held a meeting on the premises of Eshwara Temple in the village on December 5 and decided to elect 13 members unopposed in return of a payment of ₹51,20,000 to the village deity.
At the meeting, others were restricted from filing their nomination papers against the 13 who had agreed to pay the amount together to the deity after the elections, which are scheduled to be held on December 22.
The Deputy Director of the taluk panchayat, the Revenue Inspector, and the village accountant subsequently visited the village and appealed to the people to participate in the election in a free and fair manner.
The Deputy Commissioner of Ballari sent a report to the State Election Commission as well as the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj on December 19.
Even after an FIR was registered against the 18 people – including the village heads who conducted the meeting and the 13 persons who had agreed to pay the money – under Sections 171(A), 171(B), 171(C) and 171(E) of the Indian Penal Code, the village heads had managed to auction the 13 seats of the Sindigeri Gram Panchayat.
The Kurugodu Tahsildar reported the development to the Deputy Commissioner on December 14 and requested him to declare the election of the 13 candidates as void for the violation of the model code of conduct.
The Deputy Commissioner, in return, wrote to the State Election Commission with the same recommendation and requested the latter to disqualify 13 members from taking part in the election in the future just to avoid the repetition of such incidents.
“... auctioning of seats of Gram Panchayat vitiates the entire process of election. As there is no specific provision to apply the present situation, a vacuum is created, and, therefore, I invoke Article 243(K) of the Constitution of India which empowers the State Election Commission to exercise control over the conduct of elections in a free and fair manner. As such, it is a fit and proper case to declare the elections to the 13 seats as void,” Mr. Basavaraju said, in the preamble to the order.
