HC asks SEC about panchayat poll date
Lucknow, June 4 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Wednesday asked the State Election Commission to mention the panchayat election date and directed the Uttar Pradesh government to submit the report of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) Commission, constituted to examine issues related to reservation for OBCs in panchayati raj institutions, at the next hearing on July 10.
The court was hearing a petition challenging the state government's recent decision to extend the tenure of existing gram pradhans (village head) by six months and appoint them as administrators.
"The court directed the State Election Commission to inform the date of the elections at the next hearing. The court further directed the state government to submit the report of the dedicated Other Backward Classes Commission, constituted in view of panchayat elections, on 10 July, the next hearing," said senior advocate Amrendra Nath Tripathi, who appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioner.
A division bench of justices Shekhar B Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary passed this order on Wednesday after hearing a public interest litigation filed by Om Prakash Prajapati before the Lucknow bench on Tuesday.
After the tenure of gram pradhans ended on May 26, the state government issued an order extending their tenure by six months. The petitioner challenged the government's order, terming it against the intent of the law.
Earlier, during a hearing on Tuesday, while granting one day's time to chief standing counsel Atul Kumar Dubey to file the state government's reply, the court directed that the matter be listed and presented on Wednesday (June 3).
"The court did not accept the state government's argument that the OBC Commission would submit its report in six months. The court directed the state government to submit this report on July 10," said Tripathi.
On May 20, the state government appointed a five-member Uttar Pradesh State Rural Local Bodies Dedicated Backward Classes Commission to examine issues related to reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in panchayati raj institutions.
Justice Ram Autar Singh, a retired Allahabad high court judge, was appointed chairman of the commission for six months.
The other members of the commission include retired additional district judges Brijesh Kumar and Santosh Kumar Vishwakarma, besides retired IAS officers Dr Arvind Kumar Chaurasiya and SP Singh....
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