Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court Thursday directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to finalise the schedule for panchayat and urban local bodies elections by July 20, expressing strong displeasure over the continued delay despite earlier court orders.A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sanjeet Purohit, hearing a contempt petition filed by former MLA Sanyam Lodha, ordered the SEC to place the election schedule before the court within five days, on the next date of hearing on July 20.It also instructed the OBC Commission to clarify by the same date when its report would be submitted, while pressing the state govt to indicate when it would complete the ward reservation lottery process.The bench questioned State Election Commissioner Rajeshwar Singh on why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for failing to comply with the court’s directions.Appearing via video conference, Singh told the court the SEC was ready for the polls but was awaiting the state govt to complete OBC reservation classification and the ward reservation lottery process. Singh said the election process could begin within two days once the govt provides reservation details following the lottery.The court reminded the SEC that it earlier directed it not to wait for the OBC Commission’s report to notify the elections, noting that no schedule was issued despite those directions.The bench also directed the OBC Commission to specify by July 20 when it would submit its report and asked the state govt to indicate the date on which it would complete the ward reservation lottery process.The court came down heavily on the OBC Commission for not submitting its report despite being constituted in May 2025 for a three-month period. When the commission cited lack of resources, the court responded that compliance with judicial orders is not contingent on available resources.The bench also questioned how the OBC Commission fixed Aug 14 as its report deadline when the high court already directed that the panchayat and civic body elections be completed by July 31.Initially, in Nov 2025, the high court directed the state govt and the SEC that local body polls be completed by April 15, 2026. After that deadline was missed, the court set a fresh deadline, July 31, on May 22. This week, however, the state govt again sought more time, drawing sharp criticism from the bench.As the election process still did not begin, Lodha moved a contempt petition alleging wilful disobedience. Hearing Lodha’s plea a day earlier, the high court admonished the state govt over persistent delays, holding that administrative challenges cannot come at the cost of undermining judicial directives. The bench summoned the state election commissioner and the OBC commission secretary to appear on Thursday, either in person or virtually, to explain the delay.
