The Telangana High Court, in a significant ruling on Thursday, declined to intervene in the ongoing gram panchayat election process concerning the contentious reallocation of reserved seats. A division bench firmly cited the constitutional prohibition against judicial interference once election notifications have been formally issued.
Constitutional Bar Ties the Court's Hands
The bench, comprising Justices P Sam Koshy and Suddala Chalapathi Rao, delivered this order while addressing a cluster of petitions. These petitions contested the reservation of sarpanch and ward member seats for communities that allegedly have minimal or no representation in their respective villages. The judges explicitly referenced Article 243-O of the Constitution, which restricts courts from interfering in electoral matters after the notification is out.
"We appreciate what you are trying to say, but understand our hands are tied (in view of the constitutional bar)," the bench stated as it disposed of the pleas. The court acknowledged the petitioners' concerns but emphasized its limited jurisdiction once the electoral machinery is set in motion.
Petitioners' Core Argument: Outdated Census Data
The crux of the petitioners' argument revolved around the use of 2011 Census data for determining reservations. They contended that this data had become irrelevant, especially following the bifurcation of several gram panchayats, which dramatically altered local demographics. This reliance on old data, they argued, led to absurd situations where seats were reserved for communities with either zero population or just a single resident in a village, rendering any electoral contest impossible.
Seeking redress, the petitioners had urged the court to direct the state to either de-reserve such panchayats, notify them as open category seats, or schedule their elections in a proposed fourth phase, after the completion of the three phases already announced by the State Election Commission (SEC).
SEC's Submission and Court's Final Observations
When the SEC presented its stance, warning that any judicial intervention at this juncture would disrupt seat allocations across other panchayats, the bench noted that the proper exercise of ensuring accurate representation should have been undertaken earlier by the authorities. "This is precisely expected of the state bodies," the bench remarked.
Taking into account that the election notification was already issued and nominations for the first two phases had concluded, the court held it could not constitutionally halt the process. The petitions were formally disposed of after the commission submitted that once the elections conclude, it will consult the state government regarding constituencies where polls could not be held due to a lack of eligible candidates in reserved categories. The court left it open for the petitioners to approach the relevant authorities after this consultation.
