Allahabad High Court Tags Plea on UP Panchayat Poll Schedule with Earlier Petition, Seeks Clarity from Election Commission
By Rajesh Pandey
The Allahabad High Court on Monday ordered that a fresh writ petition seeking a clear timeline for the upcoming Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh be linked with an earlier petition raising the same issue.
The direction came from a division bench comprising Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Indrajit Shukla.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner pointed out that a similar matter is already scheduled for hearing on April 30 and requested that both petitions be heard together.
The court accepted the request and directed that the present plea be connected with the earlier petition filed by Imtiaz Husain.
In the earlier proceedings, the court had asked the Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission to submit an affidavit clarifying whether it is in a position to conduct and complete the Panchayat elections within the constitutional deadline.
Under Article 243E of the Constitution of India, Panchayat elections must be completed before the expiry of the existing term, which in this case is due by May 26.
The petitioner has urged the court to direct the Election Commission to place on record a detailed, time-bound schedule for the entire election process, ensuring that there is no delay in conducting the polls.
The High Court, in its earlier observation, had emphasized that it expects the Election Commission to finalize the election schedule and present it before the next hearing.
The matter is now likely to be taken up alongside the earlier petition, with the court closely monitoring whether the constitutional mandate regarding timely elections is being adhered to.
