Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the nomination of two councillors to the Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation. The petition alleges that the nominations violated the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, which requires that two councillors be elected by the House, not nominated.
Petition seeks quashing of appointments
The writ petition seeks the quashing of the table agenda dated March 24 and the appointment order issued on June 24, through which councillors Aman Kumar (Ward 94) and Yuvraj Singh Sidhu (Ward 50) were inducted into the F&CC. It also requests a stay on their nominations during the pendency of the case.
Bhatti has further requested the High Court to direct the Municipal Corporation authorities to conduct elections for the two councillor posts in the F&CC within 15 days, strictly in accordance with Section 42(4) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act.
Alleged violation of Section 42(4)
According to the petition, Section 42(4) clearly states that the committee should comprise the Mayor, two Deputy Mayors, the Commissioner, and two councillors elected by the councillors from among themselves. It argues that the Act does not empower the Mayor to appoint or nominate members to these two posts.
The petition alleges that no election process was followed before the nominations. It claims that no meeting was convened for conducting elections, no election notice or schedule was issued, no nominations were invited, no polling took place, and no votes were counted. As a result, eligible councillors, including the petitioner, were allegedly deprived of their statutory right to contest for the committee.
Procedural irregularities highlighted
Bhatti has further contended that the General House meeting held on March 24 was convened only for the presentation of the Municipal Corporation Budget for 2026-27, and the notice specifically stated no other agenda would be discussed. However, a table agenda was later introduced authorising the Mayor to nominate two councillors to the committee, a move the petition terms as legally unsustainable.
“The table agenda was introduced without proper notice or discussion, effectively bypassing the statutory election process,” the petition states.
Political connections of nominated councillors
The petition also points out that both nominated councillors are sons of sitting AAP MLAs. Aman Kumar is the son of Ludhiana North MLA Madan Lal Bagga, while Yuvraj Singh Sidhu is the son of Atam Nagar MLA Kulwant Singh Sidhu. It alleges that the statutory election process was bypassed to facilitate their nominations.
This development has sparked a fresh controversy in the Municipal Corporation, with opposition councillors accusing the ruling party of undermining democratic processes.
