Uttarakhand HC clears path for panchayat polls
New Delhi
The Uttarakhand High Court on Friday vacated its interim stay on the upcoming panchayat elections, allowing the electoral process to move forward while directing the State government to respond to allegations regarding irregularities in the reservation roster.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice G. Narendar and Justice Alok Mahara passed the order while hearing multiple petitions challenging the reservation allocations for the rural body elections.
The stay, originally issued on June 23, just two days after the State had announced the election schedule, had stalled polls that were set to take place on July 10 and 15, with results scheduled for July 19.
Over a dozen petitions were filed by residents from various districts, raising concerns about repeated allocation of seats to the same social groups over successive terms. The petitioners alleged that such practices violate Article 243 of the Constitution and go against various Supreme Court judgments. They contended that seats for block pramukh and district panchayat president were not being rotated fairly among different categories.
In response, the state government informed the court that it had revised the previous reservation roster following observations made by the National Commission for Backward Classes, necessitating a new list for the current elections.
After examining submissions from both sides, the court noted that while there were some instances of repetition in reserved seats, the number was negligible when compared to the total number of seats. It also observed that new panchayats had been created following delimitation, contributing to the apparent irregularities.
'Petitioners have raised various contentions, including the validity of Rule 4(4), and argued that even general category seats reserved for women should fall within the 50% reservation ceiling. Prima facie, this argument does not appeal to the Bench,' the court noted in its order.
The court has directed the State Election Commission to release a revised election schedule, extending the previously announced dates by four days. It also ordered the state government to file its response to the allegations within three weeks. The matter will next be heard on July 28.
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