No notification on Assam panchayat polls without court’s permission: Gauhati HC

way2barak, December 19: The Gauhati High Court has directed the State Election Commission not to issue any notifications for the polls without the court’s permission. This decision stems from a series of writ petitions challenging the delimitation process for panchayats across Assam.

The Assam government had earlier committed to completing elections using the newly-delimitated constituencies by February 10 next year. However, with the High Court set to reconvene for further hearings on January 9, this timeline faces a significant delay.

The legal representatives for both the state government and the Election Commission presented their cases, with the court emphasizing the need for an urgent hearing due to the procedural implications. An advocate for one of the petitioners highlighted the impossibility of meeting the February 10 deadline, given the mandatory 45-day period between poll notification and the actual election.