Reservation row: Uttarakhand High Court stays panchayat polls in state

Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday stayed the upcoming panchayat elections in the state over disputes in reservation.

Acting on petitions against the reservation rotation process for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, a division bench of Chief Justice Guhanathan Narendar and Justice Alok Mehra stayed the polls scheduled to take place in two phases on July 10 and 15, respectively.

According to the dates announced recently by the state election commission, the counting of votes was to be done on July 19.

The stay will remain in force till further directions, the bench said The stay comes at a time when the model code of conduct for the upcoming elections were in force in the urban areas in the 12 districts slated to go to polls.

State Election Commissioner Sushil Kumar had issued the notification for the panchayat elections in the state on June 21 along with a detailed poll schedule according to which nominations for the polls were to begin on June 25.

Panchayat polls were eagerly awaited in Uttarakhand as the administrators appointed in the panchayats after had completed their term.

Secretary Panchayati Raj Chandresh Kumar said the process of notification (gazette notification) of rules related to reservation system in three-tier panchayat elections was in progress.

The high court's interim stay order on the reservation process in panchayats is being properly complied with, he said.

The copy of the gazette notification of Reservation Rules 2025 is being sent to the Government Press Roorkee for printing, which will be issued soon and presented before the high court so that proper judicial guidance can be obtained, Kumar added.

He clarified the state government was committed to operate the Panchayati Raj system in a constitutional and legal manner while respecting fully the dignity and instructions of the court.