“How can we intervene at this stage?": Supreme Court Refuses to Stay Ongoing Panchayat Elections in Punjab

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the ongoing panchayat elections in Punjab, warning that such an intervention on polling day would lead to "chaos." Voting began at 8 AM, and petitions seeking to halt the elections highlighting complications faced by candidates during the nomination process were brought before a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.

"If polling has started today, how can we intervene at this stage?" Chief Justice Chandrachud remarked, noting that the high court likely recognized the seriousness of the situation when it vacated a prior stay on the elections. "There will be chaos if we stay the polling that too on the polling day," he added. The Chief Justice added, “Staying conduct of elections is a grave thing. Tomorrow someone will want to stay in parliamentary elections like this.”

While the Supreme Court refused to halt the elections, it agreed to hear challenges to the Punjab and Haryana High Court's decision allowing the panchayat polls to proceed. The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed around 1,000 petitions that sought to cancel the elections, clarifying that only the Election Commission of India has the authority to intervene in the electoral process.

On October 14, the Punjab and Haryana High Court lifted a ban on 206 panchayats where complaints had been lodged regarding irregularities in the nomination process. Out of the numerous writ petitions submitted, only one was accepted, which mandated that the elections be documented through video recordings.

Polling is currently underway for 13,229 gram panchayats and is scheduled to conclude by 4 PM, with votes counted on the same day. Opposition parties in Punjab have alleged numerous irregularities in the nomination process.

Congress's Leader of the Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, claimed that the nomination papers of candidates backed by the opposition were “wrongfully” rejected and that no-objection certificates were not provided. Bajwa also raised concerns about the fairness of the vote counting under the current AAP government, noting that the voters' list from January 1, 2023, was used for the elections instead of the updated list from January 1, 2024.