ULB Polls: Woman is not a category but a gender, says High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that if a ward of a municipal body is reserved for a woman candidate under two different categories in successive elections, the same does not amount to repetition of reservation.

The Court observed that a ‘woman is not a category but a gender’, while dismissing a petition challenging on the ground that in 2013 elections, a ward was reserved for general (woman), while in 2021, it was assigned to BCA (woman).

The petitioners are prospective candidates for the ensuing elections to ward number 19 in city municipal council (CMC) of Sira in Tumakuru district.

The reservation notification in 2007 was repeated for the elections in 2013 and ward number 19 was reserved for general (woman).

After rounds of litigation, a final notification dated March November 25, 2021 changed the reservation to ward number 19 from BCA to BCA (woman).

The petitioners challenged this notification contending that reservation to woman category cannot be repeated.

Justice M Nagaprasanna said the contention of the petitioners is unacceptable.

“Woman is not a category, but a gender. Category is either ‘general’ or ‘BCA’. In the earlier elections what was reserved qua Ward No.19 was General (Woman) and now it is BCA (Woman). If woman is not a category, the categories that are reserved then and now are ‘General’ and ‘BCA (Woman)’ which are altogether different. Therefore, in my considered view, there is no repetition of reservation or violence made to the guidelines,” the court said.

The court also conceded the argument advanced by the senior counsel appearing for the State Election Commission (SEC) that the elections have not been held for the last three years since 2018 when the term of the elected body was over.

He further submitted that the calendar of events were notified on November 29, 2021 and a division bench of the high court has directed that elections to all local bodies should be concluded before December 30, 2021.

“The elections being the bulwark of democracy cannot be stifled or scuttled by the processes of this nature and interpretation that is contrary to law,” the court said.