Constitutional Purpose Over Literal Interpretation: The Voting Rights of Nominated Members in Legislative Council Elections

Case Snapshot

• Case Name: Pranesh M.K. v. A.V. Gayathri Shanthegowda & Ors.

• Citation: 2026 INSC 716

• Bench: Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joyalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi

• Date of Judgment: July 16, 2026

• Area of Law: Constitutional Law, Election Law, Local Self-Government

Judgment in Brief

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals and upheld the High Court's decision that nominated members of Town Panchayats are not entitled to vote in elections to the Karnataka Legislative Council from a Local Authorities' Constituency. The Court held that the expression "members" in Article 171(3)(a) of the Constitution and Section 27(2)(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, must be interpreted harmoniously with Article 243-R of the Constitution (introduced by the 74th Amendment), which expressly denies voting rights to nominated members in municipal meetings. Since nominated members lack a democratic mandate and cannot vote in municipal affairs, allowing them to vote in Legislative Council elections would be constitutionally inconsistent. The election result, which had a margin of 6 votes against 12 invalid votes cast by nominated members, was materially affected and was set aside.

Relevant Facts

• Elections to the Karnataka Legislative Council from the 12-Chikkamagaluru Local Authorities Constituency were held in December 2021.

• The electoral rolls included 12 nominated members of Town Panchayats (Koppa, Mudigere, Sringeri, Narasimharajapura) appointed under Section 352(1)(b) of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964 (KMA).

• The appellant (returned candidate) won by a narrow margin of 6 votes—1188 votes against the respondent's 1182 votes.

• The respondents filed writ petitions challenging the inclusion of nominated members in the electoral rolls. The High Court held such inclusion invalid on November 3, 2022, and the Division Bench affirmed this on April 20, 2023.

• Election petitions were then filed challenging the election result. The High Court ordered segregation and exclusion of votes cast by the 12 nominated members, which altered the result.

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