The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday directed the State Election Commission to specify by when it will be able to conduct long-pending municipal elections across the state.
Justice Ananda Sen was hearing a contempt petition filed by former ward councillor Roshni Khalko against the government for not holding civic body elections despite a January 2024 high court order directing polls to be conducted within three weeks.
Chief Secretary Avinash Kumar, Home Secretary Vandana Dadel, and Urban Development Department Secretary Gyanendra Kumar appeared before the court during the hearing. The bench expressed strong dissatisfaction with the state’s delay in conducting the elections and pulled up the senior bureaucrats for the tardy progress.
The court asked the Election Commission to furnish a definite date by which the municipal polls would be held. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 10, and the court has ordered these senior officers to remain physically present on that day as well.
Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan informed the bench that the process to hold municipal elections has been initiated. He explained that a report will soon be placed before the Cabinet for approval, after which it will be sent to the State Election Commission to conduct the polls.
The Commission told the court it would need at least three months after receiving Cabinet sanction to complete the electoral process. However, the bench was not satisfied with this response and directed the Commission to submit a clear timeline through an affidavit.
Khalko’s counsel, Binod Singh, pointed out that the high court had earlier directed the government on January 4, 2024 to ensure that municipal elections were conducted within three weeks. The continued delay led to the filing of the present contempt petition.
