Dehradun, June 24 -- Uttarakhand high court on Monday stayed the upcoming panchayat elections in the state amid dispute over the reservation rotation process for the three-tier polls, and directed the government to submit its response in the matter at the earliest. The panchayat elections were scheduled to be held in two phases - July 10 and 15. The division bench of Chief Justice G Narender and Justice Alok Meara passed the order while hearing separate petitions filed by Ganesh Datt Kandpal and Virendra Singh Butola. Shobit Saharia, counsel of Kandpal said he argued that the reservation criteria set by the government for the ongoing panchayat elections were flawed. "We argued that the reservation rules framed by the state had not been officially notified in the government gazette, rendering the entire reservation process invalid," Saharia said in a statement. He said, "Earlier, during a hearing on June 20, the bench had sought a clarification from the state government on this matter. However, during Monday's proceedings, the government failed to present a satisfactory explanation on why reservation rules framed by the state had not been officially notified in the government gazette, as mandated in section 126 of Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act 2016". The counting of votes will take place on July 19. htc...