Uttarakhand Panchayat Polls Put on Hold Following High Court Stay on Reservation Process

Dehradun : The upcoming three-tier panchayat elections in Uttarakhand have been put on hold following an order by the Hon’ble Uttarakhand High Court, Nainital. The court has stayed the reservation process citing the non-notification of the reservation rules by the State Government.

As per a notification issued by the State Election Commission, Uttarakhand (No. 1242/R.N.A.-2/4324/2025 dated June 24, 2025), the High Court passed an order on June 23, 2025, in Writ Petition No. 410 (MB)/2025 Ganesh Datt Kandpal vs. State of Uttarakhand and Others, stating that the allotment of reservations for posts of Village Pradhan, Block Council Members, and District Panchayat Members be stayed as the relevant rules — Uttarakhand Village Panchayat, Kshetra Panchayat, and Zila Panchayat (Reservation and Allotment of Seats and Offices) Rules, 2025 — have not been officially notified.

Subsequently, in another related case (Writ Petition No. 416 (MS)/2025 Deepak Kirola vs. State of Uttarakhand and Others), the High Court scheduled the next hearing for June 25, 2025, after hearing the State Government’s stance.

In view of this legal development, the State Election Commission, which had earlier issued Notification No. 1141 dated June 21, 2025, declaring the election schedule for all 12 districts (excluding Haridwar), has now deferred the entire process.

The nomination process was scheduled to begin on June 25 and continue till June 28, between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM daily. However, due to the legal uncertainty over reservation and seat allotment, the Election Commission has announced a stay on the nomination and all subsequent election-related activities until further orders.