Telangana HC sets 3-month deadline for conducting panchayat elections; directs state to furnish voters within a month | Hyderabad News – Times of India

HYDERABAD: Justice T Madhavi Devi of the Telangana high court on Tuesday directed the state election commission (SEC) to conduct polls for panchayats in the state within three months from now. The judge also directed the state to furnish to the SEC the list of voters, duly classified into SC, ST, BC, General, men and women etc categories within one month from now. This would enable the SEC to commence the election process. The judge pronounced this order after hearing a batch of petitions filed by sarpanches of various gram panchayats in the state seeking timely conduct of elections to the gram panchayats in tune with the mandate of the Constitution. The term of the sarpanches was over in January 2024. The sarpanches were opposing any rule by special officers. They were urging the court to direct the state to either conduct the polls or to continue them till the elections are conducted.Justice T Madhavi Devi, turned critical towards the state for not furnishing the required information to the SEC for the last one and half years. Additional advocate general Imran Khan sought 25 days. Senior counsel G Vidya Sagar appeared for the state election commission and said they need two months from the time the state furnishes them the details of voters, etc. Taking both these requests into consideration, the judge has set a 3-month deadline for completing the poll process for panchayats in the state.Gummalla Bhaskar Reddy, the counsel for the petitioners, said that the term of the current sarpanches was over on January 31, 2024. Though the state is under a constitutional obligation to conduct polls within six months, this was not done so far. The non-conduct of poll is violative of Articles 243E and 243K of the Constitution of India, besides being contrary to the provisions of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, he said.