By Arun Pratap Singh
Nainital, 14 Jul: The Uttarakhand High Court has declined to pass any fresh directives on the State Election Commission’s request for clarity regarding the eligibility of voters whose names appear in, both, urban and rural electoral rolls during the ongoing three-tier panchayat elections. The division bench, comprising Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Alok Mehra, orally observed that its order issued on 11 July was in consonance with the Uttarakhand Panchayat Raj Act. The Court has placed the onus of implementation squarely on the Election Commission. The Court further clarified that it has not stayed the panchayat elections but has merely suspended a circular issued by the Commission on 6 July.
The court’s refusal to issue any further clarification has compounded the situation for the Uttarakhand Election Commission and now there is confusion on how to implement the court judgement by ensuring that those registered in urban as well rural constituencies don’t cast their votes.
It may be recalled that, on Friday, the High Court, while delivering its order, had stayed the directions issued by the State Election Commission, observing that candidates whose names appear in two separate electoral rolls are in violation of the Panchayati Raj Act. During the hearing, the Court had also orally remarked that it would not intervene in the election process as the nomination procedure had already concluded; however, this was not specifically mentioned in the written judgement and it was for this reason, that the State Election Commission had sought further clarification and also sought modification of the 11 July order, arguing that the election process had been stalled as a result. It contended that, owing to the judicial intervention, substantial confusion had arisen regarding the continuation of electoral proceedings, especially in light of the allotment of election symbols scheduled for 14 July.
It may be recalled that the High Court, in its order on 11 July, had stayed the circular issued by the Commission on 6 July to all district election officers. That circular had stated that individuals whose names were included in the gram panchayat voter list ought not to be barred from voting or contesting in the elections. However, as per sub-sections (6) and (7) of Section 9 of the Uttarakhand Panchayat Raj Act, individuals whose names are present on more than one electoral roll, spanning urban and rural jurisdictions, are deemed ineligible to vote or contest in panchayat elections. In light of this statutory provision, the High Court found the circular to be inconsistent with the law and stayed its implementation.
In numerous panchayats, it has emerged that certain individuals listed in urban voter rolls are also included in rural rolls, with many actively participating in the election as candidates. Nevertheless, in accordance with the aforementioned legal provisions and the High Court’s pronouncement, such individuals do not qualify to contest. This legal ambiguity prompted the Commission to deliberate whether to proceed with the elections or pause them temporarily, given that the distribution of election symbols was slated to commence on 14 July.
The Commission maintained that despite having incurred considerable expenditure towards conducting the elections, the High Court’s decision had compelled it to suspend the electoral process temporarily. Pursuant to its application before the Court, the Commission directed that the allotment of election symbols, which was scheduled to begin today, be deferred until 2 p.m., with suitable instructions issued to all district magistrates to that effect.
