‘There will be complete chaos’: Supreme Court refuses to stay Punjab rural polls | Latest news India

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the ongoing Punjab panchayat elections after pleas were filed regarding complications faced by candidates while filing nominations.

The top court said: “Polling has opened, suppose we stay now, there will be complete chaos. To hold elections is a serious matter. Tomorrow someone will want to stay in parliamentary elections like this” .

The bench also added that they would list the case and would be open to hearing submissions challenging the Punjab and Haryana high court order to allow panchayat polls in Punjab.

Polling has been ongoing in Punjab since 8 am for 13,229 gram panchayats and is due to end at 4 pm today. The votes will be counted today.

Opposition parties in Punjab have alleged that there were several irregularities during the nomination process for the elections. Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa of the Congress, claimed that the papers of opposition-backed candidates were “unfairly” rejected and no-objection certificates were not provided.”

Bajwa also expressed doubts about the fair practice during the counting of votes under the current AAP government. He pointed out that the voter list of January 1, 2023 has been considered for the panchayat elections instead of the voter list of January 1, 2024 as well.

On October 14, the Punjab and Haryana high court dismissed more than 1,000 petitions seeking cancellation of the panchayat elections. The court clarified that only the Election Commission of India could intervene in the election process.

The court also lifted a ban previously imposed on 206 panchayats where complaints had been filed over filing-related irregularities.

The only writ petition out of thousands that was accepted by the high court was one that ordered the election to be documented through video recordings.