The High Court has given its decision on whether or not to contest Panchayat elections for candidates whose names are in both the local municipal body and Gram Panchayat voter lists. The High Court has clearly refused to give any clarification in the Panchayat election case. The High Court said that it has already given its decision.
Let us tell you that on Friday, the High Court had stayed the direction of the State Election Commission by giving a decision and said that contesting elections by candidates whose names are in two voter lists is against the Panchayat Raj Act. During the hearing, the court had also verbally said that it is not interfering in the elections as the nomination process for the Panchayat elections has been completed, but this was not mentioned separately in the decision. The case was heard before a division bench of Chief Justice Justice G Narender and Justice Alok Mehra.
Shakti Singh Bartwal had filed a PIL saying that in 12 districts of the state, except Haridwar, the names of some candidates contesting Panchayat elections are in the voter lists of both the municipal bodies and the Panchayat, in which the returning officers have taken different decisions, due to which the nominations of the candidates have been canceled in some places, while in some places their nominations have been accepted. The petition said that in any state of the country, having a name in two different voter lists is considered a crime. In the petition, this practice in Uttarakhand was questioned. The petitioner had filed a petition in the High Court on the non-compliance of sub-sections 6 and 7 of section 9 of the Panchayati Raj Act. The plaintiff and the government’s advocates had given different interpretations of the court’s decision, which was creating confusion.
The High Court has not interfered with the election process currently underway, so this order will not affect these elections. It will be effective from future elections. After receiving a copy of the order, the Commission will consider its legal aspects. While the petitioner’s lawyer Abhijay Negi said that after the court’s order, the candidates whose names are registered in two voter lists have become ineligible to contest the elections. Not taking action accordingly would be contempt of court. The commission’s lawyer Sanjay Bhatt said that due to Saturday and Sunday being a holiday, an online application was made to the High Court requesting to vacate the stay in the case or give clear instructions. The case was also mentioned through the judicial registrar, on which hearing has been scheduled in the court on Monday
