The Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government and the Election Commission to halt the reservation process ahead of the three-tier gram panchayat election in the state. On Friday, the Lucknow bench of the court sent an order to all district magistrates, stopping the state and the EC from finalising reserved seats for the polls. 

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The court has also asked the government and the commission to respond on the issue raised in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) within 24 hours and has fixed March 15 as the next date of hearing, PTI reported. 

The government had released an initial list on March 2, and was slated to release the final list by March 10. However, it has now been stayed till at least March 15.

A bench of Justices Ritu Raj Awasthi and Manish Mathur passed the order on the PIL moved by Ajai Kumar. 

Kumar’s legal counsel told the court that according to the UP Panchayat Raj (Reservation and Allotment of Seats and Offices) Rules – passed in 1994 – the year 1995 was kept as the base to reserve seats on rotation. 

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He said that the government issued another notification in September 16, 2016, changing the base year to 2015 and applying it to the panchayat election that year. 

The said notification was issued considering the change in demographic situation in the state and that notification is still in existence, argued the counsel for the petitioner

However, the state government is applying 1995 as the base year for the process this time in contravention of the 2015 notification, pleaded the petitioner, adding that it does not stand reason.