HC rejects Congress plea for stay on panchayat elections

Thursday, 18/04/2013

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130418/punjab.htm#12

Chandigarh : Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee’s (PPCC) worse apprehensions that the Punjab Government may go ahead with panchayat elections on the basis of alleged “defective” and “illegal wardbandi” can come true anytime now. For, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has not stayed the election process.

Taking up a petition filed in public interest by the PPCC through its president Partap Singh Bajwa this morning, a Division Bench of the High Court only issued notice to the State of Punjab and other respondents. They include 22 deputy commissioners and Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Department Surjit Singh Rakhra. The case will now come up for further hearing on April 26.

At the time of hearing, a number of senior Congress leaders, including Sunil Jakhar, Ravneet Singh Bittu and Sukhpal Singh Khaira, were present in the courtroom.

The development is significant as one of the prayers made by the committee was for restraining the respondents from holding the panchayat elections “on the basis of defective and illegal wardbandi”. As the case came up for preliminary hearing before Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Amol Rattan Singh, Bajwa sought the court’s permission to argue the case personally. But he was not permitted to do so on the ground that the petition was filed by a party through a counsel. As Bajwa was not allowed to assist the Court in person, the PIL was argued by Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu.

He told the Bench that the government carried out the delimitation of wards in a clandestine manner; and even site plan was not considered at the time of delimitation. Sidhu also blamed Rakhra for being the brainchild behind the entire process.

Accusing Rakhra of interfering in the process of wardbandi at every level, the committee had earlier sought directions to the State of Punjab, the minister and the 22 deputy commissioners to undertake the process afresh.

Claiming to have received “numerous complaints” in recent past on “grave illegalities, irregularities and gross violations of law in the process of wardbandi”, the party added that irregularities were being committed by the respondents with malafide and insidious designs.

The respondents, for their selfish and vested interests, were manipulating and maneuvering the panchayat elections “by wrongly, illegally and arbitrarily doing the wardbandi to suit their political interests,” the party added.