PIL filed against delay in municipal polls: Rajasthan HC seeks govt reply in 4 weeks

Jaipur, April 29 (IANS) After the postponement of panchayat elections in Rajasthan, the state government's decision to delay municipal body elections has now been challenged in the Rajasthan High Court.

A division bench comprising Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Anand Sharma heard the PIL filed by former MLA Sanyam Lodha and directed the state government to submit its response within four weeks.

According to the petition, elections have not been conducted in 55 municipal bodies whose terms expired in November 2024. Instead, administrators have been appointed -- an act the petitioner alleges is unconstitutional and violates the Rajasthan Municipal Act, 2009.

Advocate Puneet Singhvi, representing Lodha, argued that the Supreme Court has held that local body elections can only be delayed in exceptional circumstances, such as natural disasters. “There is no such justification in the current case. The government has failed to uphold its constitutional obligation,” Singhvi said.

In response, Advocate General Rajendra Prasad, appearing for the state, stated that the government is prepared to hold elections and will file a detailed reply in due course.

The petition also invokes the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which granted constitutional status to urban local bodies and mandated timely elections to uphold democratic decentralization. It argues that even five months after the expiry of municipal terms, the state government has not announced election dates, violating the constitutional mandate.

The petitioner seeks immediate quashing of the administrators' appointments and demands that elections be held without further delay.

This is not the first instance of election delays in the state. Earlier, elections in 6,759 Gram Panchayats scheduled for January were also deferred, with existing sarpanches appointed as administrators. That move, too, has been challenged and is pending adjudication in the High Court.

In defense of the delay in panchayat elections, the government has cited an ongoing process of reorganization and re-demarcation, which is expected to conclude by May or June -- suggesting that elections are unlikely before that.

--IANS

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