Guwahati, Jan 12 (PTI) The Gauhati HC allowed panchayat elections in Assam except in areas mentioned in nine petitions through which the delimitation exercise was challenged in the court.

A bench of Justice Soumitra Saikia gave the verdict on Friday, and a copy of the order was made available on Sunday.

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Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said panchayat polls can now be held only after completion of class 10 and 12 board examinations, in late March or mid-April.

The order was passed after the state government and the State Election Commission (SEC) filed interlocutory applications, seeking leave of the court to publish notification for panchayat polls in the rest of the state.

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Hearing the nine writ petitions, mainly challenging the delimitation of panchayats, the court had on December 17 directed the SEC not to issue any notification regarding holding of the polls without its permission.

"...this Court is prima facie of the view that the interim protection granted in the nine (9) writ petitions cannot be extended in respect of all the other writ petitions in the absence of specific facts being pleaded and countered by the State respondents. Even during the course of the hearing, several fresh writ petitions were filed raising similar issues. All these writ petitions will have to be heard upon the pleadings being completed as it involves several questions of facts," the order said.

With regards to the nine writ petitions, it said, "This Court clarifies that the order dated 17.12.2024 passed in these nine (9) writ petitions will be applicable only to the petitioners in these nine (9) writ petitions. No benefit of the interim order is extended to the other writ petitions at this stage."

The court further said the process of election contemplated by the state and other constitutional authorities "should not be interdicted at this stage while however keeping the question of law open to be urged before this Court appropriately".

Senior advocate AK Talukdar, appearing for one of the petitioners, told PTI that there are several districts under which the areas mentioned in the nine writ petitions fall, including Sribhumi, Hailakandi, Cachar and Morigaon.

"In the delimitation process, a district is taken as a unit. So with this order, effectively, panchayat polls cannot be notified in these districts," he said.

On the other petitions filed subsequently before the court, Talukdar said, "Notices in those petitions have been issued and the hearing process will continue. But as of date, there is no bar in notifying or holding the panchayat polls in other areas."

Meanwhile, the CM said that though the court paved the way for the polls, it could not be held immediately.

"Even if we notify the polls tomorrow, polling will barely be over by the time the class 10 and 12 board exams start. The time has already passed. We will now have to hold it perhaps around Bohag Bihu (mid-April)," he said.

The class 10 and 12 exams of various boards are scheduled to begin in mid-February and continue for over a month.

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