Chandigarh/New Delhi, 15 October, 2024: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to halt the ongoing panchayat elections in Punjab, warning that such an action on polling day would lead to disorder.
The elections that will elect around 13,000 panchayats, began at 8 a.m.
“There will be chaos if we stay the polling, especially on the polling day,” remarked a Bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, as a petition to stop the elections was brought up for urgent hearing.
The Bench added, “If polling has started today, how can we intervene at this stage? The High Court likely understood the seriousness of the situation and lifted the stay on the elections.”
While refusing to stop the elections, the Supreme Court agreed to hear petitions challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order that allowed the polls to proceed.
On Monday, the High Court had dismissed nearly 1,000 petitions seeking to cancel the elections, with a Bench comprising Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma lifting the stay on the process.
