The Supreme Court on Friday requested a response from the Punjab government and the State Election Commission regarding a plea alleging irregularities in the recent panchayat elections in the state [Sunita Rani and ors v. State of Punjab and ors].
A Bench comprising Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and Sanjiv Khanna directed that the responses be submitted within four weeks.
The panchayat elections in Punjab were held on October 15. Earlier on the same day, the Supreme Court had declined to stay the elections, noting that the voting process had already begun.
The appeal to the Supreme Court challenges an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which, on October 14, dismissed around 800 petitions that alleged irregularities in the panchayat elections. These petitions were filed by three Dalit individuals, who claimed that they were prevented from submitting their nominations by supporters of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab.
The Punjab government argued before the High Court that these petitions were not maintainable, as the petitioners should have filed election petitions instead. Initially, the High Court had stayed the elections for over 200 panchayats, but on October 14, it lifted the stay and dismissed the petitions. This dismissal prompted the appeal to the Supreme Court.
In response, the Supreme Court issued notices to the State government and the State Election Commission on Friday. During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsel, Advocate Ajit Pravin Wagh, informed the Bench that his clients are in the process of filing an election petition. The Bench directed that this petition be heard promptly.
