Uttar Pradesh gram panchayat polls: ‘2015 to be the base year to reserve seats on rotation,’ rules HC

New Delhi, Mar 15: The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Monday ruled that the base year for applying reservation on seats by rotation will be 2015.

A bench comprising Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Manish Mathur gave the decision on the PIL filed by one Ajai Kumar.

The Uttar Pradesh government is expected to release the final list of reserved seats on 17 March, 2021, while the court passed the interim order, restraining authorities from finalising the list for panchayat polls.

Ajai Kumar, the petitioner said the government had issued the UP Panchayat Raj (Reservation and Allotment of Seats and Offices) Rules in 1994 , whereby it had provided 1995 as the base to reserve seats on rotation.

The government issued another notification on September 16, 2015, proving that the base year would 2015 and applied it in the panchayat elections 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 September 16, 2015 notification, pleaded the petitioner, adding that it does not stand reason.

The three-tier panchayat elections to elect a total of 57,207 heads are scheduled for April. Uttar Pradesh has 826 vikas khands (development blocks), and 58,194 gram sabhas. There are 7,31,813 wards in the gram sabhas, and 75,855 wards in kshetra panchayats and 30,051 wards in 75 zila panchayats.