A writ petition was filed beforethe Calcutta High Court on Thursday challenging a notification issued by the West Bengal government to appoint city mayor Firhad Hakim as the chairperson of the board of administrators of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).The petition by one Sharad Kumar Singh, a resident of the city, claimed that the country's Constitution does not allow any elected member to continue in office for more than the stipulated period of five years and, as such, Hakim's appointment was illegal.Singh, in his plea, said the state government had on May 6 illegally appointed the members of outgoing mayor-in- council and the mayor of the KMC as members and chairperson of the civic body's board of administrators respectively.Seeking quashing of the notification, the petitioner claimed that there was no provision for appointment of administrator in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act.The high court, which is currently hearing only very urgent matters over video conferences amid the coronavirus- triggered lockdown, is scheduled to sit next on May 12.
