Ranchi — The Jharkhand High Court on Monday sought a detailed response from the State Election Commission (SEC) regarding the long delay in holding municipal and urban local body elections across the state.
A bench led by Justice Ananda Sen directed the SEC to clarify when the elections will take place and to submit a comprehensive report specifying the proposed schedule and required steps for conducting them. The matter will be heard again on November 24.
The directive came during the hearing of a contempt petition concerning the state’s failure to comply with the court’s earlier order mandating timely municipal elections.
During the session, Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan, appearing for the Jharkhand government, told the bench that the government had already submitted the ‘triple test’ report — a prerequisite for finalizing backward class reservations in municipal bodies — to the SEC. He said the Commission had requested more details, including ward-wise reservation data and updated demographic figures, which would be provided shortly, paving the way for the issuance of the election notification.
However, Advocate Sumeet Gadodia, representing the SEC, countered that the complete reservation report had not yet been received. He added that the Commission would need around three months to conduct the elections once the government’s submission is finalized.
The contempt petition was filed by former RMC councillor Roshni Khalkho and Reena Kumari, seeking enforcement of the High Court’s January 4, 2024 order, which had instructed that municipal polls be held within three weeks — a directive that has yet to be implemented.
Jharkhand has 48 municipal bodies, of which 12 have been awaiting elections since June 2020. The terms of the remaining local bodies expired in April 2023, leaving the state without any municipal polls since last year.
With inputs from IANS