MUMBAI, Jan. 1 -- In a late-evening hearing held at the chief justice's residence on Tuesday, the Bombay High Court restrained the commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from requisitioning staff of the subordinate courts for election duty. The court directed the municipal commissioner, who is also the district election officer, to file a personal affidavit explaining the power and jurisdiction under which he had issued such directions earlier. A division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Ashwin Bhobe took up the matter suo motu after the registry placed records before the chief justice earlier in the day, which showed that the commissioner, in his capacity as the district election officer, had on December 22 directed subordinate court staff to report for election duty on December 30. The Administrative Judges' Committee (AJC) of the high court, in 2008, had resolved that the staff of the high court and subordinate courts are exempt from election duty. The chief metropolitan magistrate informed the district collector and the municipal commissioner about the earlier high court decision and sought exemption for court staff. A similar communication was sent by the inspection registrar on December 26, enclosing a copy of the court's administrative decision. Despite this, the commissioner on December 29 issued an letter to the chief judicial magistrate stating that the exemption had been declined. During the hearing, advocates Komal Punjabi and Joel Carlos, appearing for the BMC, sought an adjournment till 8.45 pm to withdraw the December 29 communication. The court declined the request and directed the BMC commissioner to file a personal affidavit detailing the legal powers under which he had issued directions to the subordinate court staff. "The commissioner, BMC-cum-district election efficer is restrained from issuing any letter/communication to the court staff of high court or subordinate courts requisitioning their services for election duty", the bench said, directing the State Election Commission, the Election Commission of India and the State to file affidavits and posting the matter for hearing on January 5....