HC relied on Nagpur bench verdict: Pangam

NT Reporter

Panaji

Advocate General Devidas Pangam on Wednesday said that the High Court has quashed the Election Commission of India’s notification for the Ponda Assembly constituency by-election, which was scheduled to be held on April 9, effectively cancelling the bypoll.

Pangam said that the court relied on a previous decision of the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench in a similar case while quashing the notification.

Meanwhile, advocate for the Election Commission of India, Rama Rivonkar, said that the Election Commission had considered the period since the demise of Ponda MLA and Minister Ravi Naik in October 2025, which is more than a year before the Goa Assembly elections, likely to be held in early 2027.

Rivonkar said that the High Court declared the Election Commission’s notification for the bypoll as “null and void,” thereby cancelling the April 9 by-election.

“We had requested the High Court for a stay on the order for two weeks. However, the High Court did not grant it. I have to go through the order to see what court has said,” she said.