Imphal: The High Court of Manipur on Friday instructed the state government to hold panchayat elections within six months, reports India Today NE.
Manipur has been under the President’s rule since February 13 this year.
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The HC direction brings an end to the imbroglio over the pending local body polls.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kempaiah Somashekar and Justice Guneshwar Sharma issued the order.
The Bench was hearing petitions pertaining to the delay in holding the polls.
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Panchayat elections in Manipur were held last in 2017.
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Fresh elections were supposed to be held in June 2023 following the end of the five-year term but to no avail.
Panchayati Raj institutions have been calling the shots through various administrative committees chosen by the government.
The bench noted that “to make the Panchayati Raj system workable, the state government can appoint fresh administrative committees for gram panchayats and administrators for zilla parishads, but only for a period not exceeding six months.”
The bench also directed the state government to grant freedom “to appoint temporary committees or administrators until then, strictly within the six-month ceiling.”
Courtesy of the High Court, functioning of Manipur’s Panchayati Raj institutions would get a shot in the arm.