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Haridwar Nainital. The Uttarakhand High Court has put a stay on the proposed three-tier panchayat elections in the state for the time being. This order was issued on Monday by a division bench of Chief Justice Justice GS Narendra and Justice Alok Mehra after hearing the petitions filed regarding irregularities in the reservation rotation process.
what is the matter
Bageshwar resident Ganesh Dutt Kandpal and other petitioners filed a petition in the High Court alleging that:
The state government issued new reservation rules on June 9, 2025.
After this, on June 11, the old reservation rotation was ended and the new reservation system was implemented.
Due to this, many Panchayat seats have been reserved for reserved categories for four consecutive times, due to which general category candidates are not getting the opportunity to contest the elections.
The petitioners said that this entire process is against the Constitution and election rules.
Government and Commission’s side
The state government argued that some petitions related to this issue are also pending in the single bench of the High Court. On this, the advocate of the petitioners clarified that the new reservation rules issued on June 9 have also been challenged in the petition filed in the division bench, while only the order of June 11 has been challenged in the single bench.
Election Commission notification also stayed:
It is noteworthy that on June 22, the State Election Commission had announced through a press conference that panchayat elections will be held in two phases in 12 districts (except Haridwar). The commission had said that:
The notification was to be issued on June 21.
Voting was proposed to be held in two phases.
The counting of votes was to take place on July 19.
But the High Court made it clear that as long as this matter is pending, no election process can be carried forward. The court has sought a detailed reply from the state government in this regard.
A situation of confusion has arisen regarding the Panchayat elections in Uttarakhand. The High Court’s order has made it clear that there are serious flaws in the government’s preparations regarding the reservation rotation process. Now the election activities will be stopped until the court gives its final decision in this matter.
