Jaipur, May 12: The Rajasthan High Court expressed strong dissatisfaction on Monday regarding the state government’s failure to conduct panchayat and local body elections on time. The court noted that sufficient time had been given to the government, yet the elections have been repeatedly postponed.
After hearing the case, the bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sanjeet Purohit reserved its decision.
The state government and the State Election Commission requested additional time to hold the elections. Advocate General Rajendra Prasad, representing the government, informed the court that delays were caused by various High Court rulings related to ward delimitation for local body elections.
He also mentioned that the report concerning OBC reservations had not yet been submitted by the commission, preventing the elections from taking place.
The bench raised questions about the delays in panchayat elections, emphasizing that previous court directives primarily concerned local body elections. The judges inquired why panchayat elections were also not conducted on schedule. They pointed out that no clear information had been provided regarding the status of the OBC commission.
The bench commented that had the commission’s status been clarified properly, appropriate directives could have been issued. During the hearing, the government cited extreme heat as another reason for postponing the elections.
The Advocate General stated that Rajasthan experiences severe heat in June, and with the onset of the monsoon in July, conducting elections becomes challenging. The court dismissed this argument, asserting that the people of Rajasthan are accustomed to such weather conditions.
Lawyers representing the petitioners accused the government of deliberately delaying the elections. Advocate Puneet Singhvi claimed that the government lacks the intention to hold elections, leading to a constitutional crisis where officials are replacing elected representatives in panchayats and local bodies.
Advocate Premchand Devda noted that the terms of thousands of panchayats have already expired, and elections have been continuously postponed for nearly a year and a half.
Previously, on November 14, 2025, while hearing 439 petitions, the Rajasthan High Court directed the government to conduct panchayat and local body elections by April 15, 2026. The court also ordered the delimitation process to be completed by December 31, 2025.
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