Panaji, April 8 The Bombay High Court on Wednesday declared the Election Commission of India's notification for the Ponda Assembly by-election as "null and void," effectively cancelling the April 9 poll.
Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar of the Goa bench of the HC passed the order in response to petitions filed by two voters who had challenged the validity of the notification, arguing that less than one year remained in the current assembly's term.
The by-election was necessitated by the death of former Goa minister Ravi Naik in October last year. The ECI had announced polling for April 9 and counting on May 4.
The petitioners argued that under the Representation of the People Act, holding a by-election is not mandatory if the remainder of the Assembly's term is less than one year. They pointed out that the new MLA would only serve for a few months.