Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has given a new deadline to the state government to complete the Taluk Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat elections.
The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to complete the demarcation of taluk and zilla panchayats and conduct elections with reservation for SC, ST, OBC and other categories in an additional 12 weeks. The order was passed by a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S Vishwajit Shetty while disposing of an interim petition filed by the state government seeking modification of the earlier order dated May 24, 2022.
The State Election Commission has filed a writ petition seeking relief against declaring the provisions of the Karnataka Village Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act, 2021 unconstitutional. The petitioner had sought a direction to the state government to initiate the process of elections to all taluk and zilla panchayats in accordance with the delimitation notification dated March 30, 2021 and the reservation notification dated July 1, 2021.
Work not completed
Advocate General Prabhulinga Navadagi, the High Court had ordered on May 24 to give 12 weeks time to the state government to complete the work of division of zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat constituencies and reservation in the state. However, the Redistricting Commission has written to the government on September 9 to seek another time from the High Court to complete the constituency redistricting work. After that, the government can do the work of fixing the reserve, he said. The government is also making all efforts to complete the constituency re-allocation and reservation at the earliest. So he requested that 12 weeks time should be given.
The court upheld the petition, directed the government to complete the re-allocation of constituencies within 12 weeks, including reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and other categories in Taluk and Zilla Panchayat constituencies. Election Commission, Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act-2021 should be declared unconstitutional and repealed. The election process should continue based on the draft reservation and constituency redistribution notification already published by the Election Commission. It requested that the government should be directed to publish the final reservation and constituency redistribution list and take necessary steps to complete the election process at the earliest.
The state government has issued a gazette notification on September 18, 2021 regarding the implementation of the Karnataka Panchayat Raj and Gram Swaraj (Amendment) Act-2021 regarding the increase of seats and candidates in taluk and zilla panchayat constituencies based on population ratio .
Three months time
As per the High Court order, the Constituency Redistribution Commission is expected to submit its report within three months. The process is likely to be completed by the end of December and the report will reach the government in January 2023. High Court Advocate General Prabhulinga K. Navadagi said that the government should take the next step and prepare for the election.
