The Rajasthan High Court has directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to take immediate steps for the conduct of long-pending municipality elections, observing that the constitutional mandate for timely local body polls cannot be compromised.
Justice Anoop Dhand, presiding over a single-judge bench, observed that the Commission cannot remain a “silent spectator” to the prolonged delay in holding elections. The Court noted that the inaction was leading to “a derailment of local self-governance” and ran contrary to the mandate of the Constitution, which requires that elections to municipalities be completed within six months of the expiry of their term.
The Bench pointed out that the tenure of several urban local bodies across the state had already expired, yet the statutory requirement for elections had not been complied with. Such lapses, the Court remarked, directly affect the functioning of democratic institutions at the grassroots level.
Issuing a categorical direction, Justice Anoop Dhand instructed the State Election Commission “to take appropriate measures and ensure the timely conduct of the pending municipality elections.”
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