HC asks Tripura govt to hold TTAADC polls by May 17

The High Court of Tripura on Tuesday ordered the state government to conduct elections to the 30-member Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) within May 17 this year.The term of the previous council expired on May 17, 2020, but its elections were not held in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic situation.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Akhil Abdulhamid Kureshi and Justice SG Chattopadhyay directed the state government to hold the polls within May 17.

The bench passed the order while hearing a petition filed by a resident of the TTAADC area, which constitutes two-third of the state's territory. It is also home to tribals who form one-third of Tripura's population.The petitioner sought the intervention of the court for holding early polls in the council.The State Election Commission in an affidavit on Tuesday informed the court that it would publish the voters' list by January 15.

Elections to the TTAADC were indefinitely postponed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak last year, and after its term expired on May 17, the council's administration was handed over to the Tripura governor.

The TTAADC came into being under the sixth schedule of the constitution in 1985. Of the 30-member council, two seats are nominated by the governor of Tripura as per the advice of the state government.

(IMAGE CREDITS:PTI)