Civic body polls: Punjab govt to move top court against HC order
The government is seeking to delay the elections, citing technicalities to finalise the delimitation process for some civic bodies
The Punjab government has decided to move the Supreme Court against the Punjab and Haryana high court’s October 14 order directing the state to announce election schedule for five municipal corporations — Amritsar, Patiala, Jalandhar, Phagwara, and Ludhiana — and 42 municipal councils and nagar panchayats within 15 days. The government is seeking to delay the elections, citing technicalities to finalise the delimitation process for some civic bodies.
Top government lawyers are drafting a petition to challenge the high court order in the apex court. “A petition will be filed by next week to take a stay in the SC. We have solid grounds to challenge the HC decision as some of “wardbandi” is stayed by the court itself, and how can we conduct elections in such areas. We need at least 16 weeks to conduct elections”, said a government official, requesting anonymity.
People familiar with the development said the state government is keen to hold elections in March next year so that it can complete key infrastructure projects and urban development initiatives before polling. Most of the urban representatives of AAP, including MLAs, have demanded to delay the elections.
This decision comes after the high court’s contempt notice issued on November 6 for the government’s failure to comply with its previous directive. The court had ordered the state to announce the election schedule by November 5, but the government had not adhered to the timeline, leading to contempt petition against government.
Local bodies minister Dr Ravjot Singh confirmed that the government was moving supreme court.
This move has sparked political debate, as the government’s delay in holding elections, especially in urban areas, could have significant implications. “AAP is fearing a massive defeat in urban areas where it has lost by huge margins in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, thus not conducting polls”, Partap Singh Bajwa, leader of opposition, said.