HC slams HP govt over last-minute reorganisation of panchayati bodies; reverses delimitation of gram panchayats in Solan

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh high court on Tuesday slammed the state govt over its recent reorganisation of panchayati raj institutions (PRIs), terming the exercise arbitrary and potentially an election-delaying tactic.A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma emphasised, "It is also apt to record that we fail to understand that when the five years' term of PRIs already expired and respondents are bound by the mandate of the Constitution, reiterated by courts, including the apex court, with direction to complete the election process latest by May 31, then why respondents are venturing into large-scale reorganisation and constitution of wards/PRIs, which was not done on time." The five-year term of PRIs in Himachal Pradesh came to an end on Jan 31.The bench, while disposing of a petition, added such commission on the part of the state govt may cause an adverse inference to be drawn about its intention. "Respondents, the state, should not undertake such exercise, which may be considered a delaying tactic or procrastination, as due to paucity of time, decisions taken in haste are leaving lacunae, intentional or unintentional, warranting scope of interference in judicial review," underlined the bench.These observations came while setting aside a Jan 27 notification that transferred Manlog Badog village from Hanuman Badog gram panchayat to Darlaghat gram panchayat. Both are located in Solan district. The notification in question, aimed at reorganising and delimiting gram panchayats Darlaghat and Hanuman Badog, was challenged for its basis.The court highlighted the state govt's only justification—distance between villages—ignored critical factors like geographical location, contiguity, and population. The reorganisation was reportedly based on a request made over 10 years ago, despite improved connectivity between the two villages in the interim through new panchayat roads, the court underlined.The bench termed this action "manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, and irrational", emphasising the state's approach neglected ground realities. The court directed the state authorities, especially SDM Arki, to issue the necessary notification regarding the constitution and delimitation of gram panchayats Hanuman Badog and Darlaghat within five days.