The Jharkhand High Court has rapped the state government for delaying municipal elections in the state, calling it an act of contempt, while emphasising that polls cannot be indefinitely postponed under the pretext of conducting the triple test process for OBC reservation in the civic bodies.

The court has also issued a notice to the Election Commission of India and scheduled the next hearing for January 16.

The case stems from a petition filed by outgoing Ranchi Municipal Corporation councillor Roshni Khalkho and others. The petition was heard in the Jharkhand High Court on Monday. During this, the state government said that it is preparing to conduct the elections by completing the triple test process. But the High Court gave clear instructions on this that as per the order of the Supreme Court, elections can be held even without triple test. The court also said that the election cannot be postponed on the pretext of triple test. If the state government postpones the election without following the instructions of the Supreme Court, it will be considered contempt of court.

In this hearing, the advocate of the State Election Commission told that till now the new voter list has not been received from the Central Election Commission, due to which the election process may get delayed. At the same time, advocate Vinod Singh appealed to the court on behalf of the petitioner Roshni Khalkho to conduct the elections as soon as possible.

The High Court has made it clear that any delay in the conduct of municipal elections will not be justified and the election process should be completed soon in accordance with the instructions of the Supreme Court.

On January 4 last year, the High Court had ordered the state government to announce municipal election dates within three weeks. It noted that delaying elections beyond the tenure of municipal bodies constitutes a constitutional and local governance breakdown.

Khalkho later filed a contempt petition, citing the government's non-compliance with the court's order.

During a hearing before Justice Anand Sen, the state government contended that the triple test process to determine OBC reservation percentages in municipal bodies was still underway, and elections would be held once it was completed.

The court expressed its dissatisfaction with this explanation, stating that postponing elections under the guise of the triple test was improper.

The State Election Commission’s advocate informed the court that the Election Commission of India had not yet provided an updated voter list despite repeated requests. The state government’s lack of cooperation was also highlighted during the hearing.

Taking a serious view of the situation, the court directed that a notice be issued to the Election Commission.

The terms of all municipal bodies in Jharkhand expired in April 2023. Elections for the new term were due by April 27, 2023, but have yet to take place.