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Jaipur, Nov 14 (IANS) The High Court has issued an important direction to the Rajasthan government, ordering that panchayat and municipal elections be held simultaneously by April 15, 2026. The court directed the ruling BJP government to complete the delimitation process by December 31, saying delaying the elections was a violation of constitutional provisions.
A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice SP Sharma delivered the verdict on Friday while hearing a series of petitions filed by Giriraj Singh Devanda, former MLA Sanyam Lodha and others.
The petitioners argued that the Rajasthan government has illegally and arbitrarily postponed the panchayat and municipality elections of about 6,759 panchayats and 55 municipalities across the state despite the expiry of their term.
The court had reserved its verdict after completing the hearing on August 12 and delivered the long-awaited verdict almost three months later.
Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Premchand Devanda submitted that the government’s notification dated January 16, 2025, postponing the Panchayat elections violates Articles 243E and 243K of the Constitution and Section 17 of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.
He argued that once the five-year tenure of the Panchayat ends, elections should be held immediately, and the outgoing Sarpanches, who are no longer public representatives, cannot be appointed as administrators, as private individuals cannot hold such posts under the law.
In a separate PIL related to the municipal elections, advocate Puneet Singhvi, representing former MLA Lodha, claimed that the government’s failure to conduct elections in 55 municipalities – whose terms ended in November 2024 – led to the unauthorized appointment of administrators.
He said the government’s actions violated the Constitution and the Rajasthan Municipal Corporations Act, 2009, noting that the Supreme Court allows postponement of local body elections only in cases of natural disasters. He argued that no such situation existed in this case.
The BJP government defended its actions and said its intention was to test the concept of ‘one state, one election’.
A high level committee was formed for this purpose. It said the move aims to save time, money and manpower while strengthening Panchayati Raj and urban local bodies.
The government further said that after the previous administration created several new districts, nine of which have been abolished, the work of border demarcation, panchayat reorganization and municipal delimitation remains incomplete.
The elections were postponed due to this ongoing process. The government also argued that under Section 95 of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, it has the power to appoint an administrator where elections have been postponed. It said the Act does not specify who should serve as the administrator, giving discretionary powers to the government.
–IANS
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