Garhwal Post Bureau
Nainital, 24 Jun: The Nainital High Court today heard a petition challenging the state government’s move to exclude alleged encroachers from the voter lists for the 2025 three-tier panchayat elections. A single bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani directed the petitioners to file a representation with the department concerned, instructing that it be resolved as per law.
The Court added that, if no action is taken, the petitioners may return to the Court. Firmly asserting the constitutional right to vote, the Court cited Article 239, observing that neither the government nor the judiciary could curtail this right. It remarked that even those considered encroachers must first be served notice and due process followed, criticising the state’s rules as baseless.
It may be recalled that a petition in this regard has been filed by Bhajan of Anand Nagar, Udham Singh Nagar, and others. The petitioners have contested a government order stating that individuals residing on encroached government or forest land would be barred from voting or contesting in the upcoming panchayat elections.
The petitioners claimed their names had been removed from the recently updated voter rolls despite having voted in earlier elections and availed benefits under central government schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. They questioned the grounds for suddenly being branded encroachers.
Further, they alleged political bias, claiming their names were struck off as their local representative belonged to a rival political party. The Court, reiterating its constitutional stance, instructed the petitioners to pursue resolution with the concerned department and reaffirmed that no citizen could be disenfranchised without due process.
