The Bombay High Court bench at Goa has quashed the notification for the Ponda Assembly by-election, effectively cancelling the polling that was scheduled for April 9. The decision came after the court allowed petitions filed by Pritam Harmalkar and Ankita Kamat, who had challenged the validity of the election notification.

The bench, comprising Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar, ruled that since less than one year remains for the completion of the current five-year term of the Goa Legislative Assembly, conducting a by-election was not necessary. Following the High Court’s order, the scheduled polling has now been cancelled. The Ponda seat had fallen vacant following the demise of former Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik, prompting the Election Commission to announce a by-election.