Uttarakhand High Court stays panchayat polls amid reservation row

The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday (June 23, 2025) stayed the panchayat elections in the State amid reservation controversy. The notification for the polls was issued by the State Election Commission on Saturday (June 21, 2025).

A Division Bench of Chief Justice G. Narendar and Justice Alok Mehra stayed the panchayat polls while hearing petitions against the reservation rotation process for the three-tier elections, which were earlier scheduled to be held in two phases on July 10 and 15. The stay will remain in force till further orders, the Bench said.

The stay comes at a time when the model code of conduct was in force in urban areas in 12 districts slated to go to polls, whose results were scheduled to be announced on July 19.

Chandresh Kumar, Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Uttarakhand said the process of issuing gazette notification of rules related to the reservation system in panchayat polls was in progress. He said the High Court order would be complied with.

“The copy of the gazette notification of Reservation Rules 2025 is being sent to the Government Press, Roorkee for printing, which will be issued soon and presented before the High Court so that proper judicial guidance can be obtained,” he added.

The official clarified that the State government was committed to operating the Panchayati Raj system in a constitutional and legal manner, while respecting fully the instructions of the court.