By Arun Pratap Singh
Nainital, 16 May: The Uttarakhand High Court is currently hearing multiple petitions and Public Interest Litigations (PILs) challenging the state government’s decision to appoint outgoing heads of district and village panchayats as administrators. These petitions have alleged that the government, instead of conducting timely elections, is deliberately delaying the panchayat elections. The case had another hearing in the court today where a division bench comprising Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Alok Mehra directed the state government to present a clear timeline by 20 May for holding the panchayat elections. The court has fixed the next hearing for 20 May.
During the proceeding, the HC questioned the rationale behind appointing administrators after the tenure of the elected panchayats had already ended. The bench emphasised that holding elections is a constitutional mandate which the state government cannot evade. The court firmly stated that the electoral process should be carried out as per constitutional requirements and demanded that the state present a concrete schedule for the elections.
The Counsel for the State Election Commission informed the court that all necessary preparations for conducting the elections are complete, and the election programme has already been submitted to the government. The Election Commission argued that the remaining decisions, particularly regarding the implementation of reservations in different areas, now rest with the state government.
It may be recalled that the case originated from a PIL filed by former village head Vijay Tiwari and several others. The petitioners argued that after initially appointing outgoing district panchayat chairpersons as administrators, the government has now extended this practice to village panchayats by appointing outgoing village heads as administrators, granting them financial authority. The petitioners highlighted that a significant period has passed since the expiry of the gram panchayats’ term, yet elections have not been conducted. They contended that appointing outgoing heads as administrators could potentially influence the upcoming elections, thus demanding the swift conduct of elections for the gram panchayats.
The petitioners’ counsel cited several Supreme Court judgments asserting that administrators can only be appointed if a Gram Sabha is dissolved for specific reasons, and even in such cases, elections must be held within six months. They argued that the current situation in Uttarakhand presents a contradictory scenario, where elected panchayats’ terms have ended, and instead of holding fresh polls, the government is appointing outgoing heads as administrators, suggesting a lack of readiness to conduct elections. The petitioners also claimed that crucial pre-election processes, such as finalising voter lists and determining reservation categories, are yet to be completed by the Election Commission, further underscoring the need to promptly conduct the gram panchayat elections instead of relying on administrators.
It may be recalled that the state government had initially appointed government officials as administrators in the gram and block panchayats after the expiry of the elected bodies’ terms in November 2024, excluding Haridwar district where elections were held separately previously. However, following protests from outgoing panchayat heads, the government later amended its orders to appoint the outgoing gram pradhans and block pramukhs as administrators in most districts, pending the fresh elections.
