Editor’s Note
The High Court has issued a stay on the upcoming three-tier Panchayat elections in Uttarakhand, halting a process for which notification had already been issued and the Model Code of Conduct had taken effect.
The High Court has imposed a stay on the three-tier Panchayat elections scheduled to be held in the state. It is noteworthy that the notification for the three-tier Panchayat elections in Uttarakhand had already been issued. The nomination process was announced to begin from June 25. The Model Code of Conduct had also come into effect.
The Nainital High Court has stayed the reservation order issued by the government on June 11 for the proposed three-tier Panchayat elections in the state. In the case, the government had stated in its order that, considering the reservation applied in previous Panchayat elections as null and void, the first reservation from this year onwards would be considered applicable. Following this, the State Election Commission issued the notification for the Panchayat elections, and along with it, the Model Code of Conduct had also come into effect. Petitions challenging this decision of the government were heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice G. Narender and Justice Alok Mehra.
Previously, in the last hearing, the High Court had sought a response from the government regarding the related rulebook and the order issued on June 11. Not being satisfied with the government’s response, the High Court imposed a stay on the elections. With this decision of the High Court, the Panchayat elections in the state have been put on hold for now.
It is informed that these petitions were filed in the High Court by Bageshwar resident Ganesh Datt Kandpal and others. They stated that on the 9th of last month, the government issued an order creating a new rulebook for Panchayat elections. Furthermore, through an order issued on June 11, it decided to declare the reservation rotation applied so far for Panchayat elections as null and void and to implement a new rotation starting this year. However, the High Court had already given directions in this matter earlier. The petitioners argued that due to this order, seats that were reserved for the past three terms have been reserved for the fourth time as well. Because of this, they are unable to participate in the Panchayat elections. In this matter, the government stated that some similar cases are also filed before a single-judge bench. Meanwhile, the petitioner’s advocate said they have also challenged the rules issued on June 9 before the division bench. The government further stated that before the single-judge bench, only the June 11 order mentioning the fresh application of reservation has been challenged.