Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Ordinance challenged in Punjab and Haryana High Court

Chandigarh, September 8

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The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice of motion to the State of Haryana on a plea challenging the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Ordinance-2022 providing reservation to Backward Class (A) in the panchayat elections.

Taking up the petition filed by Suresh and other petitioners, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli also fixed the matter for further hearing on December 14. Among other things, the petitioners were seeking directions to set aside the ordinance issued on September 2 on the grounds of it being in violation of Article 14, 15 and 243D of the Constitution.

The petitioners contended the ordinance was liable to be set aside as the sub Section (4) of Section 9 created reservation of wards of panch for the BC (A) in every gram panchayat. The number of wards so reserved would bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of wards in that gram panchayat as one half of the percentage of BC (A) population to the total population in that gram sabha area.