A review petition was filed on Wednesday regarding Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutional validity of Haryana law that made minimum educational qualification compulsory for contesting panchayat elections in the State.
Akhil Bhartiya Janwadi Mahila Samiti chief Jagmati Sangwan has filed the review petition in the apex court.
Giving a major relief to Haryana Government, a bench of Justice J Chelameswar and Justice AM Sapre, which had earlier stayed the implementation of the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act 2015, had on December 10 upheld Government’s decision to make educational qualification mandatory to contest panchayat election and had stated that there was nothing wrong in the law passed by the State Assembly on September 7.
A large number of State’s population has been rendered ineligible to contest the polls under the new law.
The law stipulates that general-category candidates for panchayat polls must have a minimum qualification of completing class 10. Scheduled Castes and women aspirants are required to clear class 8 while women from the SC category will be eligible only if they have passed class 5.
Apart from mandatory educational qualifications for the candidates, the law makes it mandatory that poll candidates have a functional toilet at home, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachchh Bharat campaign. Anyone found defaulting in payment of agricultural loan and electricity bills will also be disqualified.
Notably, the nomination process for the panchayat election has started on Wednesday and would continue till 29. The panchayat poll would be held in three phases i.e. on January 10, 17 and 24 in Haryana.