The controversy over the appointment of two councillors to the Municipal Corporation’s Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) took a fresh turn on Friday after the Punjab Government informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the Mayor’s order nominating two councillors to the committee was legally invalid.During the hearing of a petition challenging the appointments, the Municipal Corporation placed on record a communication issued by the Deputy Director, Local Government, Punjab, on August 1. The department submitted that under Section 42(4) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the two councillor members of the F&CC have to be elected by the councillors from among themselves and cannot be nominated by the Mayor.The department further informed the court that it had withdrawn its earlier approval granted to Resolution No. 106, passed by the Municipal Corporation on March 24, after finding it contrary to the provisions of the Act. Consequently, the Mayor’s order dated June 24, nominating two councillors to the committee, was declared to have no legal authority or legal effect. The nominated members ceased to be part of the committee with immediate effect.The communication also directed the Municipal Corporation to fill the two vacant posts through elections in accordance with Section 42(4) of the Act.Taking the government communication on record, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the Municipal Corporation to complete the election process for the two councillor members of the Finance and Contracts Committee before September 11. The court also ordered that the entire election process be videographed to ensure transparency.The directions came during the hearing of CWP No. 20549 of 2026, Gaurav Bhatti versus State of Punjab and others, in which the validity of the nominations has been challenged.According to official information, the government withdrew the Mayor’s order nominating the members through its order dated August 1. Subsequently, on August 3, the two nominated councillors submitted their resignations from the committee.