Allahabad HC asks to club two writ on panchayat elections in UP; hearing on April 30

On a writ petition seeking direction to the Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission to produce a detailed schedule of panchayat elections, the Allahabad High Court has ordered to connect it with another writ filed earlier and asking for the same relief.

On a writ petition seeking direction to the Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission to produce a detailed schedule of panchayat elections, the Allahabad High Court has ordered to connect it with another writ filed earlier and asking for the same relief. When the matter was taken up on Monday, the counsel for the petitioner informed that April 30 has been fixed for hearing in another petition for the same prayer. The counsel prayed to connect the matter with the pending writ. A two-judge bench comprising Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Indrajit Shukla ordered to connect the writ petition filed by one Imtiaz Husain earlier. Earlier, hearing the petition filed by Imtiaz, the court had asked the state election commission to file an affidavit stating whether they are in a position to conclude the elections according to the mandate of Article 243E of the Constitution of India, that is, the election ought to have been completed on or before May 26. The petitioner had moved the court seeking direction to the commission to place on record a detailed time-bound schedule for the completion of the entire panchayat election process, well before the expiry of the district panchayat tenure. ''It is expected from respondent No.2 (state election commission) that the entire schedule of holding the election should be finalised and brought on record before the next date of listing,'' the court had observed.