In a major upset for the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal, the Jalpaiguri circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday (February 20) ruled that municipal elections in Darjeeling will not be held till April 30. The court ordered that the status quo be maintained and fixed April 24 as the next date of hearing in the matter.


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A single bench of Justice Amrita Sinha was hearing a writ petition filed by 15 councillors who were challenging the state government’s decision to dissolve the elected body.


Anand Bhandari who is representing the councillors said, "It has been six months since the matter is pending in court, and there is still two-and-a-half-years left for the end of the current term of the municipality. We have requested the court to hear the case and issue an interim order to not hold any elections in Darjeeling."


It was then that the court then passed the status quo order to not hold municipal elections in Darjeeling till April 30.


On May 2019, the municipal board reached an impasse after the Binay Tamang faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha was asked to prove its majority in the board. Several councillors switched parties after BJP won both the Darjeeling Lok Sabha and Assembly seats.


The state government stepped in and dissolved the Darjeeling Municipal Board and appointed Additional District Magistrate as an administrator in June 2019.


The 15 elected councillors of Darjeeling filed a writ petition challenging the government's decision in court.