A public interest litigation has been filed in the Jharkhand High Court seeking panchayat elections in the state.

Jayaprakash Pandit of Deoghar has filed the PIL alleging the government is violating the rules by not conducting panchayat elections. Article 243 of the Constitution makes it clear that elections are compulsory as soon as the term ends, but the Government of Jharkhand wants to retain all the rights instead of empowering panchayats, the petition states.

The petition also calls for the government to stay the order issued on 7.1.2021, giving the authority of all the delegates for six months while proceeding to the panchayat elections.

The petition said that after the expiry of the term, there is no provision to extend the right of six months to the people’s representatives, so the government’s order should be stayed.

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The court was told that Dumka and Bermo Assembly by-elections were successfully conducted during the lockdown. Now preparations are also being made for Madhupur by-election. In such a situation, panchayat elections can also be conducted. The court has been requested to direct the government to conduct panchayat elections as early as possible, the petitioner said.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has summoned the state government in a PIL challenging the legality of deployment of administrators in gram panchayats. Issuing notice to Advocate General Raghavendra Singh on January 20, the division bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Ramesh Sinha sought a counter affidavit.

The division bench passed the order on the PIL of Panchayat Raj Gram Pradhan Sangathan through its General Secretary Suresh Kumar. In this, the deployment of administrators in the gram panchayats after the end of their tenure is being called a violation of the constitutional provision.

According to Chandra Bhushan Pandey, petitioner’s advocate, the State Government enacted the UP Panchayat Raj Act by an ordinance in 2000. Its Section 12 (3) (a) stated that after the term ends, the government can appoint an administration committee or administrator in the panchayats.

However, the bench of the High Court dismissed the ordinance as unconstitutional. In such a situation, the State Government does not have the right to appoint administrators. Under Article 243 (e) of the Constitution, the tenure of panchayats cannot be extended beyond 5 years.

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