AP High Court dismisses govt's petition seeking stay on Panchayat elections

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday held a hearing on the conduct of panchayat elections in the state. The High Court dismissed the government's request to suspend the panchayat elections in February. It said that the stay could not be granted under these circumstances and ordered the SEC to file a counterclaim and adjourned the next hearing to the 14th of this month.

Following the announcement by SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh that panchayat elections will be held in February, the government has approached the court seeking an order directing the state election commission to stop the process immediately. Panchayati Raj Chief Secretary Gopalakrishna Dwivedi has filed a petition in the High Court on behalf of the government. The petition alleges that the panchayat elections in February were not possible and that the SEC had made a unilateral statement without consulting the government and said that SEC did not comply with the Supreme Court orders.

With more than 6,000 people have already died in the state due to coronavirus, the public health is the duty of the government at this time. The court, which has already heard the case several times, has recently given its verdict.