3 weeks ago
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The Supreme Court of India connected Wednesday (May 20, 2026) said the Karnataka authorities seems to beryllium deploying “delaying tactics” to postpone civic polls successful Bengaluru portion extending the deadline for the elections by different 2 months to August 31.
Shifting the clip bounds for the predetermination from June 30 to August 31, the apex tribunal said this would beryllium the State government’s “last chance”, and determination would beryllium nary further extensions.
“The substance gives an unnecessary content that this is each delaying tactics connected the portion of the State,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, heading a three-judge Bench, remarked.
Senior advocator A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Karnataka, said the State had made each different arrangement, including the indispensable budgetary allocations for the behaviour of the polls. However, determination was a “manpower problem”, requiring a “slight hold of 60 days”.
Mr. Singhvi acknowledged that extensions had been sought successful the past from the court. “I person asked for clip galore times,” helium submitted.
The proceeding was based connected applications filed by the State and the Karnataka State Election Commission (KSEC). They had primitively sought clip till September 30 to behaviour the election. However, the State aboriginal settled for a two-month hold of time.
The State said it was committed to its work to clasp the polls “in the interests of justness and equity”. It justified that the petition for an hold of the deadline successful the inheritance of the Census and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was “bona fide”.
The KSEC had recovered the concerns raised by the State authorities authorities to be prima facie genuine, arsenic the Census and SIR were stretching quality resources successful the State.
“Due to the deployment of the manpower by the State authorities for the intent of conducting Census, Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, etc, the required manpower and logistics whitethorn beryllium unavailable with the State government. It is, therefore, astir humbly prayed that this Hon’ble Court whitethorn kindly assistance an further 3 months for concluding the elections,” the canvass assemblage said.
