Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday issued contempt notices to the State Election Commission (SEC) and State Election Commissioner Rajeshwar Singh over delays in conducting panchayat and urban local body elections in the state.
A division bench led by Acting Chief Justice S.P. Sharma passed the order while hearing a contempt petition filed by former MLA Sanyam Lodha.
The court questioned how the SEC issued a schedule for revision of voter lists that extends beyond the court-mandated deadline, despite earlier directions.
It has sought a detailed response from the Commission within four weeks.
Counsel for the petitioner, Puneet Singhavi, argued that the state government and the SEC are deliberately postponing the elections, amounting to wilful disobedience of the High Court’s orders.
As per the Commission’s schedule, the final voter list for local body elections is to be published on April 22. This timeline effectively rules out the possibility of completing elections by April 15, the deadline set by the court.
During the hearing, Advocate General Rajendra Prasad informed the bench that the state government intends to move an application seeking an extension of the election schedule.
Responding to this, the court observed, “That is a matter to be addressed later. For now, how did the Election Commission issue such a schedule?” The bench directed the SEC to respond to this query within four weeks.
On November 14, 2025, the Rajasthan High Court, while deciding a batch of 439 petitions, directed the state government to conduct panchayat and local body elections by April 15, 2026.
It also mandated completion of the delimitation process by December 31, 2025.
The Supreme Court, while hearing petitions challenging the High Court’s order, subsequently upheld the timeline and reiterated that elections must be conducted by April 15. Meanwhile, no contempt notice has been issued to the state government at this stage.
(IANS)
