Panchayat elections: Poll schedule not submitted, HC fines election panel head ₹50,000

The high court has summoned the chief election commissioner again for December 18, the HC bench of justice Rajbir Sehrawat passed the order as the chief election commissioner, Raj Kumar Chaudhary, failed to produce the poll schedule during a hearing on Thursday as ordered on December 5

The Punjab and Haryana high court has imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on the chief election commissioner, Punjab, for failing to produce the panchayat polls schedule and has summoned him again for December 18.

The court was hearing 2021 pleas from panchayats alleging non-compliance of the HC orders on conduct of elections for vacant seats of panches and others reported after last panchayat elections.

The high court bench of justice Rajbir Sehrawat passed the order as the chief election commissioner, Raj Kumar Chaudhary, failed to produce the poll schedule during a hearing on Thursday as ordered on December 5.

The court was hearing 2021 pleas from panchayats alleging non-compliance of the HC orders on conduct of elections for vacant seats of panches and others reported after last panchayat elections. It was during these proceedings that the state’s counsel had told the court that not only the seats, which fell vacant after previous elections, but also the general election of all panchayats is to take place and the process for the same was on.

As the petitioner’s counsel had said the poll schedule has not been announced so far even as the government had been making promises about the same. Chaudhary was summoned, if the poll schedule is not produced. However, during the hearing, Chaudhary sought more time from the court to produce the schedule. In view of this, now the matter stands adjourned for December 18, and Chaudhary has been told to deposit with the Punjab and Haryana High Court Lawyers Welfare Fund ₹50,000 as costs and further told him to remain present on the next date of hearing.

Term of present panchayats will be over by mid-Jan

The lawyers have been alleging that polls are being delayed due to political reasons. The term of present panchayats will be over by mid-January and the process should have been completed by then as per the constitutional mandate.

On August 10, the state government had notified the dissolution of panchayats and declared elections to gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishad. There are 13,241 panchayats, 22 zila parishads and 152 panchayat samitis in the state. However, subsequently, the government withdrew the notification due to controversy surrounding the decision. A large number of panchayats had challenged the move in court. A fresh notification, since then, from the state election commission is awaited.