The Hyderabad High Court on Monday directed the Telangana government to submit the schedule for holding elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) by next Monday.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar was hearing a petition by M. Padmanabha Reddy of the Forum for Good Governance challenging the non-holding of GHMC elections by the government even after the expiry of the elected council and continuing the civic body’s administration through a special officer.

The GHMC commissioner filed an affidavit stating that for carrying out delimitation of wards in GHMC, 147 days are required and that thereafter, another 102 days is required for notifying reserved vacancies. The GHMC elections can be held only after the 249 days.

Telangana advocate-general K. Ramakrishna Reddy submitted that the delay in the delimitation of wards and identifying of reserved wards was due to non-allotment of officers to both the states by the Centre after bifurcation.

He said the Centre had recently completed the final allotment and the government was initiating the process of delimitation of wards in accordance with the 2011 Census. He urged the bench to grant four months to hold elections.

The bench took exception to the counter affidavit by the GHMC commissioner and said, “We directed the government to file the counter. How can the commissioner file the affidavit when his appointment is in question in the petition?”

While directing the advocate-general to file the schedule by next Monday, the bench made it clear that if the government fails to come out with a specific timeframe to hold the election the court will pronounce its orders on that day.