A PIL has been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court as elections were not held even after one year has passed since the completion of the tenure of some municipal corporations in Punjab. On the petition, the High Court has issued notice to the Punjab Government and the State Election Commission. Orders have been given to present the election schedule at the next hearing. The case will be heard again next week.
The petition by Prabodh Chandra Bali of Amritsar said that there was a need to hold elections before the completion of the tenure of the municipal corporations in January 2023. It is mandatory and has to be done under Article 249-U of the Constitution of India as well as Section 7 of the Punjab Municipal Corporations Act.
By not conducting these elections, the State Government has deprived voters of their valuable democratic rights for almost a year. The State Election Commission has not yet announced the schedule for holding the elections. It has come to fore that 4 to 5 municipal corporations are involved in this suspicious occurrence.