The Jharkhand High Court has asked the State Election Commission to spell out a possible date for the long-pending urban local body polls, clearing the way for long-delayed civic elections.
The direction came during the hearing of a contempt petition filed over the government’s failure to conduct municipal elections in the state.
Appearing before Justice Ananda Sen, Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan informed the court that the triple test report required for reservation compliance has been submitted to the State Election Commission. He said the Commission has sought additional details related to reservation and updated population lists. Once this information is provided, the notification for the elections will be issued.
Counsel for the petitioners, Vinod Singh, said after the hearing that the court has asked the Election Commission to issue the election notification by November 24. He added that the Advocate General assured the court that the pending details would be furnished within a week.
During the proceedings, the counsel representing the State Election Commission submitted that the government has not yet provided its recommendation on reservation of seats. The Commission said preparations will begin as soon as the recommendation is received.
After hearing all parties, the court fixed November 24 as the next date of hearing and directed the Commission to present the likely election schedule.
The contempt plea was filed by Roshni Khalkho and Reena Kumari. Advocate Vinod Singh appeared for the petitioners, while Advocate Sumit Gadodia represented the State Election Commission.
In the previous hearing, the state government had informed the court that the triple test report would be placed before the Cabinet. After Cabinet approval, a recommendation would be sent to the Election Commission to proceed with the polls. The court had then granted three weeks for the government to complete this process.
Municipal elections are pending in nine municipal corporations, 20 municipal councils and 19 nagar panchayats, including key urban bodies such as Ranchi, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Medininagar, Giridih and Deoghar.
The court’s latest direction has raised expectations that urban civic polls, pending for more than three years, may finally take place once the Commission confirms the timeline.