Kerala High Court approves increased local body seats

The Kerala High Court has supported the state's decision to increase the number of seats in local government bodies. The court dismissed challenges to amendments in the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and the Kerala Municipality Act. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. stated that the court cannot interfere in government policy decisions. The recent changes have raised the minimum number of panchayat seats from 13 to 14 and the maximum from 23 to 24. For municipalities, the minimum wards increase from 25 to 26, and the maximum from 52 to 53. The court emphasized that decisions on forming new panchayats or changing their areas are government matters. It noted that the petitioners failed to prove these amendments violated the Constitution or the election framework for local self-governments. Supporters of the petition argued that the government should maintain a consistent ratio of population to seats in local bodies. They also claimed that implementing these amendments without creating new local bodies was illegal. The government responded that it decided against creating new local bodies due to budget constraints, and no further decisions have been made on this issue.