Rajasthan High Court stays order on panchayat elections

A Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court on Monday (August 25, 2025) stayed an earlier order of its Single Judge Bench directing the State government to hold panchayat elections at the earliest and remove administrators at the panchayat bodies. The outgoing Sarpanches who had completed their term were earlier appointed administrators.

A Single Judge Bench had on August 18 ordered the State government to conduct the panchayat polls soon, after which the State Election Commission stated that it would shortly announce the dates. However, the State government has announced that it intends to hold elections for all panchayats and urban local bodies simultaneously.

The State government moved an appeal in the Division Bench, contending that another Bench of the High Court had already reserved its judgment on a public interest litigation regarding delimitation of wards and panchayat elections.

Advocate General Rajendra Prasad said no case was made out for the Single Judge Bench to interfere in a parallel case. The Division Bench comprising Justices S.P. Sharma and Justice Sanjeet Purohit accepted his contention and granted a stay on the Single judge Bench’s order.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government in the State has been pushing for a “one State, one election” plan, while citing delays caused by delimitation and the reorganisation of wards after the creation of new districts. It has sought to justify the plan to hold simultaneous elections for all panchayats to bring uniformity, as their tenures currently end at different times.

Among the outgoing Sarpanches appointed as temporary administrators, a few were removed after the complaints were received in connection with their earlier tenure. The State government has maintained that these individuals have no statutory right to remain administrators.

The tenure of 3,847 village panchayats will end in September and October. Five Municipal Corporations in Udaipur, Bikaner, Bharatpur, Alwar, and Pali are also due for polls. Among the urban local bodies, 134 are at present functioning without elected representatives.