The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to submit the Backward Classes Commission report on panchayat elections and ordered the State Election Commission to clarify its timeline for holding the polls.
A Lucknow vacation bench comprising Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice A K Chaudhary issued the directions on Wednesday during the hearing of a public interest litigation. The petition challenges the state government’s decision to appoint outgoing village heads as administrators following the end of their terms.
Legal Challenge to Administrator Appointments
The public interest litigation, filed by local advocate Om Prakash Prajapati, contests a May 25 government order. Under that order, incumbent gram pradhans were designated as administrators after their five-year terms expired on May 26. The high court has slated the next hearing in the matter for July 10.
According to the petitioner, Section 12 of the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act limits the tenure of a gram pradhan to exactly five years from the date they take their oath. The plea argues that by failing to conduct elections within this statutory timeframe and subsequently appointing the outgoing chiefs as administrators, the state government has unlawfully extended their terms indefinitely.
The petition also states that if elections could not be completed on schedule, the administration should have adhered to historical precedent. Rather than keeping outgoing gram pradhans in power, the government should have appointed government officials, such as assistant development officers for panchayats, to act as administrators, the petitioner contended.
