Lucknow, July 11 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has raised several important constitutional questions over the appointment of village heads as administrators after the expiry of the tenures of gram panchayats and asked the state government to clearly explain the legal basis for this system. The court also stated that the validity of Section 12(3-A) of the Uttar Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act needed to be considered. Hearing the petitions filed by Sanjay Kumar Sharma and others, a division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla on Friday said that it is worth considering whether appointing the village head as administrator indirectly extends the tenure of the panchayat and whether this affects the constitutional rights of the State Election Commission. The court is hearing these important questions along with other related public interest litigations. Scheduling the next hearing for August 4, the high court directed the state government to submit its reply on several points by then. The court directed that at the next hearing, the government should explain in detail under which legal provision the appointment of outgoing village heads as administrators was made and how it is in accordance with the Constitution. The court also directed the state government to submit details of the creation of a dedicated Backward Classes Commission. The high court remarked, "If a village head's term has expired and the same person is appointed administrator and entrusted with the responsibility of the panchayat, would this not be considered an indirect extension of his or her term?" htc...