Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission to conduct elections to the state's Panchayati Raj institutions within three months, setting a hard deadline for grassroots polls in India's most populous state.
A division bench of Justices Ajit Kumar and Garima Prashad passed the order while allowing the petition filed by Dashrath Yadav and others. The verdict was delivered in open court on Wednesday evening after a hearing that ran for three hours.
Outgoing pradhans remain as administrators
The court declined to interfere with the state government's order of May 25, 2026, issued under Section 12(3-A), which appointed outgoing gram pradhans as administrators until the new elections are held. The bench found no legal flaw in the appointments, but clarified that the administrators' tenure cannot stretch beyond what the law permits.
Reservation rules to stay
The bench directed that the elections be held under the existing reservation arrangement, including the 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes. It ruled that OBC-reserved seats cannot be treated as open seats merely because the Dedicated Commission's inquiry into the OBC quota is still pending.
Reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women must also be maintained in accordance with the applicable laws, subject to the aggregate ceiling on vertical reservation. The court said the Dedicated Commission may complete its inquiry within the prescribed or extended time, but the election process cannot wait for it.
State to provide logistics
The state government has been told to provide the election commission with the staff, funds, security and logistical support needed to hold the three-tier polls - covering zila panchayats, kshetra panchayats and gram panchayats simultaneously - within the three-month window.
The petitioners had invoked Article 243-E of the Constitution, which caps a panchayat's term at five years from its first meeting, to argue that delayed elections violate the constitutional mandate. The election commission, for its part, had argued under Section 12-BB of the UP Panchayat Raj Act, 1947, that the state government fixes the election dates through a notification.
Sources: PTI via ABP Live: Hold panchayat polls in UP within 3 months | The Statesman: Allahabad HC directs panchayat polls within 3 months
A division bench of Justices Ajit Kumar and Garima Prashad passed the order while allowing the petition filed by Dashrath Yadav and others. The verdict was delivered in open court on Wednesday evening after a hearing that ran for three hours.
Outgoing pradhans remain as administrators
The court declined to interfere with the state government's order of May 25, 2026, issued under Section 12(3-A), which appointed outgoing gram pradhans as administrators until the new elections are held. The bench found no legal flaw in the appointments, but clarified that the administrators' tenure cannot stretch beyond what the law permits.
Reservation rules to stay
The bench directed that the elections be held under the existing reservation arrangement, including the 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes. It ruled that OBC-reserved seats cannot be treated as open seats merely because the Dedicated Commission's inquiry into the OBC quota is still pending.
Reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women must also be maintained in accordance with the applicable laws, subject to the aggregate ceiling on vertical reservation. The court said the Dedicated Commission may complete its inquiry within the prescribed or extended time, but the election process cannot wait for it.
State to provide logistics
The state government has been told to provide the election commission with the staff, funds, security and logistical support needed to hold the three-tier polls - covering zila panchayats, kshetra panchayats and gram panchayats simultaneously - within the three-month window.
The petitioners had invoked Article 243-E of the Constitution, which caps a panchayat's term at five years from its first meeting, to argue that delayed elections violate the constitutional mandate. The election commission, for its part, had argued under Section 12-BB of the UP Panchayat Raj Act, 1947, that the state government fixes the election dates through a notification.
Sources: PTI via ABP Live: Hold panchayat polls in UP within 3 months | The Statesman: Allahabad HC directs panchayat polls within 3 months
