Shimla, April 1 -- The Himachal Pradesh High Court has declared that any delimitation of Gram Panchayats carried out without adherence to statutory procedures is "patently illegal", issuing key directions ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections in the state.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma disposed of a batch of petitions, including Mahila Mandal of Village Umri vs State of HP, and stressed strict compliance with the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act and Rules, 1994.

The Bench underscored that the process of creation, bifurcation and delimitation of Panchayats must follow a two-step mechanism. While the state government is responsible for reorganisation under Section 3 of the Act, the...