Can panchayat polls in UP be held on time, HC asks SEC

Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has directed the State Election Commission to submit an affidavit stating whether it can complete the panchayat elections in UP by May 26, 2026, as mandated by Article 243E of the Constitution, which specifies that a panchayat's term is five years from its first meeting date.The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddharth Nandan on a writ petition filed by social activist Imtiaz Husain, who sought a direction to the SEC to present a time-bound schedule for completion of the panchayat election process, well before the expiry of the district panchayat tenure.Fixing March 25 for the next hearing, the court in its order dated Mar 13 said, "It is expected from the State Election Commission of UP that the schedule of the panchayat poll should be finalized and brought on record before the next date of listing.""We also request the state to ensure that either advocate general or additional advocate general may appear and apprise the court on the issue," the court added.The petitioner submitted before the court that, as per the mandate of Article 243E of the Constitution, the duration of the Panchayat shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and "no longer". The petitioner's counsel stated that the first meeting for all Uttar Pradesh gram panchayats was held on May 27, 2021, meaning their five-year term will expire on May 26, 2026."The petitioner has pointed to a notification dated Nov 18, 2025, wherein the publication of the voter list was to be done between Dec 24 and 30. The notification was amended and the date of publication of the voter list was extended to Mar 20, 2026," the court added.