HC clubs two writs on panchayat polls in UP; hearing on Thurs

Prayagraj: Hearing a writ petition seeking directions for the UP State Election Commission to release a detailed panchayat poll schedule, the Allahabad high court on Monday tagged it with an earlier plea seeking the same relief.When the matter was taken up on Monday, the counsel for the petitioner informed that April 30 has been fixed for hearing in another petition for the same prayer. The counsel requested to connect the matter with the pending writ.A bench comprising Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Indrajeet Shukla ordered to connect the writ petition filed by social worker Imtiaz Husain earlier.Earlier, hearing the petition filed by Husain, the court had asked the State Election Commission to file an affidavit stating whether it was in a position to conclude the polls as per the mandate of Article 243E of the Constitution, that is, the election ought to have been completed on or before May 26.The petitioner had moved the court seeking direction to the commission to place on record a detailed time-bound schedule for the completion of the entire Panchayat election process, well before the expiry of the district panchayat tenure."It is expected from the state election commission, which is the second respondent in this case, that the entire schedule of holding the election should be finalized and brought on record before the next date of listing," the court had observed.