The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday dismissed more than 60 petitions that had challenged the state government’s exercise of delimitation and reorganisation of Panchayati Raj institutions, thereby allowing the upcoming elections to local self-government bodies to proceed without legal impediment.
A division bench of Justices Inderjeet Singh and Ravi Chirania of the Jaipur bench ruled that the delimitation of panchayat boundaries is fundamentally a policy decision and an administrative process. The Court emphasised that excessive judicial interference in such matters could unjustifiably delay elections, which are crucial to the democratic framework.
“If such petitions are entertained before every election, the democratic process will be affected, and it will become difficult to hold timely elections,” the bench observed.
The High Court noted that the Supreme Court had already declined to interfere in the state’s delimitation exercise. Earlier this month, a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi had dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the exercise, thereby giving a go-ahead to the process.
In light of this, the High Court said any intervention at this stage would be disruptive. It recalled its own earlier order directing the Rajasthan government to complete the delimitation exercise by December 31, 2025, and hold elections to all Panchayati Raj institutions no later than April 15, 2026.
“Since the Supreme Court has also mandated that panchayat elections in Rajasthan be held by April 15, intervening in the matter of the reorganisation of panchayats at this stage would disrupt the electoral process,” the Court held.
The petitions challenged various aspects of the delimitation and reorganisation of Panchayati Raj institutions across the state. Petitioners had raised concerns about procedural lapses, inadequate consultation, and alleged arbitrariness in the redrawing of boundaries and reclassification of constituencies.
However, the Court concluded that none of the grounds raised justified halting the process, especially when elections were imminent and the matter had already been considered by the apex court.
With this ruling, the path is now clear for the Rajasthan State Election Commission to proceed with preparations for the panchayat elections. The verdict also reinforces the judiciary’s stance against pre-election challenges that could delay the constitutional mandate of timely local body polls.
