HC stays Uttarakhand panchayat polls over flawed quota formula

Nainital: In a blow to the Uttarakhand government, the Nainital High Court on Monday stayed the upcoming two-phase gram panchayat elections, ordering the implementation of a revised reservation rotation formula.

The elections—scheduled for July 10 and 15, with counting on July 19—were halted by a division bench of Chief Justice G. Narendar and Justice Alok Mehra, even as preparations had reached an advanced stage. The official notification was due Monday, with nominations for the first phase set to open from June 25 to 28.

The court was responding to a petition filed by Bageshwar resident Ganesh Dutt Kandpal and others, who argued that the reservation roster had remained unchanged for three consecutive terms. One petitioner contended that the repeated formula denied him a fair chance to contest from his preferred seat.

Following the High Court’s stay on Monday, the schedule for electing 74,499 Gram Pradhans, 55,600 Gram Panchayat members, 2,974 Kshetra Panchayat members, and 358 Zila Panchayat members will now need to be revised.

Under the now-halted plan, District Election Officers were to issue detailed notifications on Monday, with nominations scheduled between June 25 and 28. Election symbols were to be allotted on July 3, ahead of polling on July 10.

The petitioner’s counsel also challenged the reservation rules issued on June 9.

On June 21, State Election Commissioner Sushil Kumar had announced that Panchayat elections would be held across 12 districts—excluding Haridwar—triggering the immediate enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.

(inputs from IANS)