Hold panchayat, urban local body elections before April 30: HC to Himachal govt

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh high court on Friday directed the state govt to hold elections to panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies before April 30.Pronouncing judgment on a public interest litigation challenging the postponement of the elections, a division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Romesh Verma directed the State Election Commission, panchayati raj and urban development departments, and the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) to complete the election process by Feb 28 and then hold the elections by April 30.
The Congress govt had earlier urged the Election Commission to halt the process, citing extensive damage to public and private infrastructure caused by natural disasters. Officials had argued that because the Disaster Management Act was in force, elections should be deferred until conditions improved. However, the high court expressed scepticism regarding the govt's motives. "The entire material on record creates doubt about the conduct of officials... giving an impression that the govt is not keen to conduct the election in a timely manner, but rather intends to defer it indefinitely for reasons known to them," the bench said. The court rejected the state's reliance on an Oct 8, 2025, order by the chief secretary (acting as SDMA chairman) which used monsoon damage as grounds for deferment. "It is apt to record that nothing has been placed on record by the state to justify the observations made in the order dated Oct 8, 2025 so as to reflect that the after-effects of the calamities exist as on date with such gravity and magnitude that it would not be possible to conduct elections to the PRIs," the bench emphasised. The court made it clear that orders issued by the SDMA chairman cannot override the constitutional machinery of the Election Commission. The bench said the state govt's claim that it has a right and authority to defer the election for one reason or another within six months after expiry of the duration of panchayats "is not legal, justified, and sustainable". "Neither the secretary nor the director concerned, nor the chief secretary, consulted the Election Commission, but they took decisions, issued letters, and passed orders unilaterally, the court highlighted. The court's ruling comes as the five-year term of 3,577 gram panchayats, 90 panchayat samitis, and 11 zila parishads is set to expire on Jan 31. Similarly, the term of 50 urban local bodies, four municipal corporations (Dharamshala, Palampur, Mandi and Solan) and five nagar panchayats (Amb, Chirgaon, Kandaghat, Nerwa and Nirmand) is due to expire on Jan 18, April 13 and April 16, respectively. Taking into account the upcoming legislative assembly session and board examinations in Feb and March, the court concluded that an April election window is the most feasible and legally sound solution. MSID:: 126436228 413 |