The state government will appeal against the High Court order not to make Pradhans administrators. A single bench of Justice Siddharth Nandan of Allahabad High Court has said in its order of June 25 that the village head cannot play the role of administrator under the rules which have become unconstitutional. The government has also been ordered to present the election outline by July 13.
The court has said in the order that under Articles 243 (E) and 243 (K) of the Constitution, the tenure of Panchayats cannot be extended by more than five years. At the same time, highly placed sources of the government say that sub-section (3-A) of Section 12 of the Uttar Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1947 mainly relates to the tenure of the Gram Panchayat and the extraordinary circumstances of postponing the elections.
According to this section, if due to unavoidable circumstances or in public interest it is not possible to hold elections before the expiry of the tenure of the Gram Panchayat, then the State Government or the officer authorized by it will have the power to make alternative administrative arrangements (such as appointment of an administrator or administrative committee) to conduct the functions of the Gram Panchayat for that period. This historical amendment in the form of this sub-section came into force in the state in April 1994.
The High Court has later ruled in the case of Prem Lal Patel vs. State of Uttar Pradesh that using Section 12 (3-A) to postpone elections indefinitely or arbitrarily extend the tenure of village heads or administrators is unconstitutional.
It is the constitutional right of the State Election Commission to conduct elections in which the State Government cannot delay it by making administrative excuses. Experts say that sub-section (3-A) added to Section 12 of the Uttar Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1947 has not been removed yet, hence the basis of this law still remains.
Based on this, the state government will file an appeal against the single bench for hearing in double bench or full bench next week. The decision to file the appeal has also been confirmed by Justice Ram Autar Singh, Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh State Local Rural Bodies Dedicated Backward Classes Commission and retired judge of Allahabad High Court.