Jharkhand high court asks state govt to fix date for PESA Rules notification

“The division bench of Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chouhan and justice Rajesh Shankar heard the contempt petition filed over the non-implementation of the 29-year-old PESA Act in the state. During the hearing, the secretary of the panchayati raj department, Manoj Kumar, was present in court. The court explicitly asked him whether the rules related to the PESA Act had been placed before the cabinet,” an advocate said.

The Jharkhand high court on Thursday directed the panchayati raj department secretary to inform it of a specific date for notifying the PESA Rules, while hearing a contempt petition over the non-implementation of the Act in the state, an advocate familiar with the matter said.

Jharkhand high court directed the panchayati raj department secretary to inform it of a specific date for notifying the PESA Rules (HT File)

“The division bench of Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chouhan and justice Rajesh Shankar heard the contempt petition filed over the non-implementation of the 29-year-old PESA Act in the state. During the hearing, the secretary of the panchayati raj department, Manoj Kumar, was present in court. The court explicitly asked him whether the rules related to the PESA Act had been placed before the cabinet. The secretary requested time until Tuesday to file a response, which the court granted. However, the court also orally remarked that if the necessary information was not provided by the next hearing, a strict stance would be taken,” the advocate said.

The contempt petition was filed by the Adivasi Buddhijeevi Manch. Its advocate and former advocate general Ajit Kumar confirmed the development, saying the next hearing in the matter would take place on Tuesday.