Shimla, Jan. 9 -- The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Friday directed the State Election Commission to ensure that elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are conducted at the earliest and, in any case, before April 30, holding that elected local bodies cannot be allowed to continue beyond their five-year constitutional term on the pretext of administrative delays or disaster-related orders.

A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Romesh Verma passed the order while deciding a public interest litigation filed by Dikken Kumar Thakur and another petitioner, who sought directions to the state and the State Election Commission to hold Panchayat elections before the expiry of the present term on January 3...