Bombay High Court Cancels Ponda By-Election, Says Poll Unnecessary Near End of Assembly Term

April 9, 2026 : The Bombay High Court bench at Goa has set aside the notification issued for the Ponda Assembly by-election, leading to the cancellation of polling that was scheduled for April 9.

The decision was delivered by a division bench comprising Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar while allowing petitions filed by Pritam Harmalkar and Ankita Kamat. The petitioners had challenged the validity of the election notification issued for the by-election.

The court held that since less than one year remains for the completion of the five-year term of the Goa Legislative Assembly, conducting a by-election was not warranted. On this ground, the notification was quashed.

Following the ruling, the Election Commission’s plan to conduct polling in the Ponda constituency stands cancelled. The seat had fallen vacant after the demise of former Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik, which had triggered the announcement of the by-election.