The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to halt the ongoing panchayat elections in Punjab, emphasizing that intervening on the polling day could lead to chaos. The decision came as the elections commenced at 8 am, with petitions seeking a stay being brought before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud.
Chief Justice Chandrachud, accompanied by Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, pointed out the impracticality of intervening after polling had already started. “If polling has started today, how can we intervene at this stage?” he remarked, highlighting that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had recognized the seriousness of the matter and had subsequently vacated an earlier stay on the elections.
The bench was firm in its stance against disrupting the election process. “There will be chaos if we stay the polling, that too on the polling day,” stated the Chief Justice.
Despite refusing to stay the elections, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the pleas challenging the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had dismissed around 1,000 petitions seeking the cancellation of the panchayat polls. The earlier stay on the elections by the high court had been a focal point of contention.
