HC disposes PIL seeking postponement of panchayat polls till Aug
panchayat elections
until after Aug, over concerns that the poll schedule overlaps with the ongoing kanwar and Char Dham yatras.
A bench of Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Alok Mahra accepted affidavits submitted by the state govt, DGP Deepam Seth, and panchayati raj secretary Chandresh Yadav, assuring that the yatras were proceeding smoothly and would not disrupt the election process.
The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by Dehradun resident Dr Baijnath, who argued that key administrative resources such as police and SDRF teams were already deployed for flood relief, which could hamper election management.
Polling is scheduled in two phases, on July 24 and 28, across 12 districts excluding Haridwar, while the kanwar yatra will continue until July 23.
In his affidavit, DGP Seth said adequate security arrangements were in place for both the yatras and the elections with 30% of the police force deployed for the kanwar yatra, 10% for the Char Dham pilgrimage, and another 10% for poll duties. Additional personnel will be deployed to manage potential disruptions.
Seth also informed the court that strict action was being taken against "unruly" kanwariyas. He said two pilgrims from Haryana were arrested after a video was widely circulated showing kanwariyas vandalising a shop near Har Ki Pauri on Sunday.
The state election commission also reaffirmed its preparedness to hold the polls. It said that the first batch of kanwariyas from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi would complete their pilgrimage before the first date of polling. Districts affected by the yatra will vote in the second phase, it added.
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