Supreme Court has ordered that panchayat elections in Himachal Pradesh must be conducted before May 31 under all circumstances. While hearing the state government’s petition on Friday, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Suryakant and Justice Joymala Bagchi rejected the government’s arguments seeking more time citing delimitation work.
The bench stated that incomplete delimitation work is not a valid reason to postpone elections. Upholding the High Court’s decision, the Court said delays in the democratic process will not be tolerated. However, the Court made partial modifications to the election timeline, setting new dates.
The bench extended the deadline for preparing the reservation roster from February 28 to March 31. The government must finalize the reservation roster within this timeframe at all costs. Meanwhile, voter lists, delimitation, and objections will be filed during this period.
While disposing of the petition, the Court clarified that no applications for time extension will be considered after this. The Court ordered all departments to work together and finalize the election schedule. The State Election Commission, Panchayati Raj and Urban Bodies Department, and administration have been directed to issue election notifications soon.
Background
In Himachal, the five-year term of panchayats ended on January 31, and the term of 50 urban bodies ended on January 18. The state has 3,577 panchayats, 90 panchayat samitis, 11 district councils, and 71 urban local bodies, all currently managed by administrators.
The state government had argued before the Supreme Court that the reorganization and delimitation work of district councils, municipal councils, and some panchayats was not yet complete, and therefore sought time till October to conduct elections. It cited the OBC category roster, absence of census data, and natural disasters in the state as reasons why elections were not feasible at present.
However, the Supreme Court rejected these as unavailable grounds. The apex court said that the High Court made no error in passing its decision while making partial changes to the dates. The High Court had already clarified the entire situation regarding elections in its judgment.
The petitioners informed the court that elections to constitutional bodies should be held on time and that the government cannot indefinitely postpone panchayat elections citing natural disasters.
The Himachal High Court had ordered on January 9 that the Election Commission and state government conduct panchayat elections before April 30. The state government challenged this decision in the Supreme Court on two legal points.
First, the High Court division bench gave the state government only four days to issue the roster for panchayat elections, which was not reasonable. Second, whether provisions for panchayat elections could be temporarily postponed when the Disaster Management Act is in force in the state.
High Court’s original order
The High Court division bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Romesh Verma had directed the State Election Commission, Panchayati Raj Department, and Urban Development Department to end mutual friction and work together. The Court had said that where delimitation work was complete, reservation roster work should be done immediately, but where it wasn’t, it should be completed by February 28 and elections held by April 30.
The Court had stated that orders issued under the State Disaster Management Act cannot override constitutional mandates. The Court had also clarified that if there were delays in new delimitation, elections could be conducted based on the 2011 census and previous delimitation.
New panchayats notification expected soon
Proposals for reorganization and delimitation of 31 panchayats in the state had been received by the government. The government now claims this work has been completed, though notifications have not yet been issued. The Panchayati Raj Minister said notifications for new panchayats will be issued soon.
