Notify poll process within 10 days: HC to Punjab, EC

The high court bench of justice Harkesh Manuja said the officer concerned would reimburse ₹50,000 as litigation cost to the petitioner from his own pocket if compliance report about the same is not filed within 10 days

The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Punjab government and its election commission to notify election process for the civic body polls within 10 days.

The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Punjab government and its election commission to notify election process for the civic body polls within 10 days. (HT File)

The high court bench of justice Harkesh Manuja said the officer concerned would reimburse ₹50,000 as litigation cost to the petitioner from his own pocket if compliance report about the same is not filed within 10 days.

The court noted that the directions to initiate poll process were given on October 14, but no action has been taken in this regard.

The court was hearing a contempt petition from one Beant Kumar from Malerkotla, who had sought initiation of contempt proceedings against officers concerned for “intentionally and wilfully” disobeying the order of high court passed on October 14.

On October 14, high court had asked the state to declare poll schedule for five municipal corporations (MCs) and 42 municipal councils/ nagar panchayats within 15 days.

“..this court has no hesitation in issuing a writ of mandamus (a court order that compels a government or entity) directing the state election commission, Punjab, and the state of Punjab to forthwith comply with the constitutional mandate and initiate the process of holding elections by notifying election programmes in all the municipalities and municipal corporations in question within 15 days from the date of this order without conducting the fresh exercise of delimitation,” the bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Anil Kshetarpal said.

The October 14 order had come on a clutch of petitions filed earlier this year seeking directions to hold elections in MCs and other local bodies, where term has ended.

The MCs where elections are to be held are Phagwara, Amritsar, Patiala, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. The House term of Phagwara MC ended in March 2020 and in other MCs in 2023. As of municipal councils and nagar panchayats, oldest date when tenure ended is of March 2020 in some cases.

The contempt petition will now be taken up for further hearing on November 21.