The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday directed the Punjab government to file its response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking immediate conduct of Gram Panchayat elections in Kalanaur village of Gurdaspur district, where polls have not been held for more than a decade despite constitutional mandates. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry issued the directive while hearing the petition filed by Mehakpreet Singh, a 37-year-old farmer and resident of the village. The PIL, argued by advocate Sutikshan Sharma, highlighted the alleged violation of residents’ democratic rights due to the state’s failure to hold elections since July 2013. In his plea, Singh contended that the last panchayat elections in Kalanaur were conducted in 2013, and fresh polls became due in 2018 under Article 243-E of the Constitution of India and Section 15 of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, both of which stipulate a five-year tenure for every panchayat. However, no elections were held in the village even as statewide polls took place in 2018 and 2024, and bye-elections for vacant posts of sarpanches and panches were conducted across Punjab on July 27, 2025. “The arbitrary exclusion of Kalanaur on each occasion has deprived its residents of their constitutional and statutory rights to local self-governance,” the petition stated, adding that the absence of an elected panchayat has hindered the implementation of state and central government welfare schemes, leaving villagers at a disadvantage compared to other areas with functioning local bodies. Advocate Sharma argued before the bench that the inaction amounts to a grave violation of democratic principles and discriminates against Kalanaur’s residents under Article 14 of the Constitution. He pointed out that the petitioner had submitted a detailed representation to the authorities on August 25, 2025, urging immediate polls, but no action was taken, leaving residents with no alternative remedy. The PIL seeks a writ of mandamus directing the respondents, including the state of Punjab through its chief secretary, the administrative secretary of rural development and panchayats, the Punjab state election commission, and the principal secretary of elections, to issue a fresh notification with a scheduled timeline for conducting the elections. It also calls for fixing a specific timeframe and communicating it to the villagers, along with any other directions deemed fit in the interest of justice, equity, and good conscience.
