The Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed the state government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to complete the entire process of conducting local body elections by September 30 following a batch of petitions by former sarpanchs over the delay in holding elections.
The court’s timeline includes 30 days for the state government to prepare the list of voters and notify the reservations, and another 60 days for the SEC to conduct the elections. The SEC and the government had sought more time to conduct the local body polls.
Justice T Madhavi Devi delivered the verdict on the six petitions filed by sarpanches of six villages who sought a direction to hold elections after their terms got over. The terms of the gram panchayats expired on 31 January last year, yet local body elections have not been conducted even after 18 months.
The petitioners argued that the delay violated Article 243E and 243K of the Constitution and also the provisions of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act. It was a Constitutional obligation to conduct the polls before the expiry of the term or within six months after the term expires.
The government has appointed special officers in place of the sarpanches to carry out administrative and financial duties after their term expires. The sarpanches petitioned to either extend their terms or hold local body elections immediately. They said that governance in rural areas has come to a halt after their terms ended.
The court reminded that the state government had assured that elections would be held by February, but failed to carry them out. Both the state government and the SEC had come under fire and their claim that they needed more time to initiate the election process was rejected by the court earlier.