- विज्ञापन -
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the State of Punjab and its election commission to announce the election schedules for municipalities and municipal corporations within 15 days, without the need for a new delimitation exercise. This directive is particularly important as elections for 42 local bodies are due following the expiration of a five-year term.
The court expressed confidence in issuing a writ of mandamus to ensure that the State Election Commission and the Punjab Government adhere to the constitutional requirement and begin the election process by announcing the election programs for all relevant municipalities and municipal corporations within the specified 15-day timeframe, without undertaking a fresh delimitation.
Citing Articles 243E and 243U of the Constitution, which address the duration of panchayats and municipalities, the Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal, stressed that elections for municipalities must be completed before the end of their five-year term. They noted that Article 243U(3)(b) establishes a maximum timeframe, specifying that elections should occur within six months of a municipality’s dissolution.
The key question for the Bench was whether delaying elections for municipalities, municipal councils, municipal corporations, and nagar panchayats due to an unfinished wards delimitation exercise was permissible.
The State argued that it was necessary to form delimitation boards for each municipality to conduct door-to-door surveys, prepare rough maps, and carry out the delimitation process. They also mentioned that delimitation boards had been established for 44 out of the 47 municipalities, while the processes for three were still incomplete.
