Nainital, Dec 17 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday asked the state government to provide information within 14 days on the schedule of panchayat elections in the state.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma issued the direction while hearing a petition challenging the notification through which outgoing elected Zila Panchayat chairpersons whose terms had expired were nominated recently as administrators of their respective Zila Panchayats.
The notification authorises district magistrates to appoint elected chairpersons of Zila Panchayats as their administrators.
In accordance with the notification, elected chairpersons of Zila Panchayats, with their tenure over, were appointed recently by the district magistrates as their administrators in Uttarakhand.
Udham Singh Nagar resident Suman Singh and Kaladhungi resident Tara Singh Negi had challenged the government notification dated 30th November 2023 before the High Court.
The petition had prayed for the cancellation of the notification in question.
The bench asked the state government to file an affidavit within 14 days informing the Court about the schedule of the Panchayat elections.
Advocate for the petitioner Dushyant Mainali informed the court that in 2011, the chief secretary of Uttarakhand had given an undertaking before the court of the chief justice that in future, administrators would not be appointed in the district panchayats except in cases of disaster.
He said the appointments went against the directives of a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court.
According to the rules, the state government should have announced the schedule for holding elections six months before the end of the tenure of the old appointees, the petition said.
Instead of appointing new administrators, the state government should conduct elections for district panchayats, it said.