Jaipur/Jodhpur, Nov. 15 -- The Rajasthan high court on Friday directed the state government to complete the election process for panchayats and urban local bodies by April 15, 2026. The court also directed that the delimitation process be completed in all districts by December 31 so that there is no hindrance in holding the elections on time. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sanjeet Purohit, while delivering its verdict on 450 petitions related to the reorganization and delimitation of panchayats and municipalities, directed the state government to ensure adherence to the deadline. The division bench, having completed the hearing on all the petitions, reserved its decision on August 12. Regarding the delay in elections, the court said that it is essential that panchayat and urban local body elections be held on time. A lawyer familiar with the matter said that the petitions alleged that the government had illegally and arbitrarily postponed the panchayat and local body elections, violating the provisions of the Constitution. The elected bodies in approximately 6,759 panchayats and 55 municipalities in the state have completed their terms. The petitioners' lawyers argued that the state government, by issuing a notification on January 16, 2025, postponed the elections to these panchayats, violating Articles 243E and 243K of the Constitution and Section 17 of the Rajasthan Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. The government has postponed the general elections to approximately 6,759 panchayats in the state, destabilizing the smallest unit of democracy and rural institutions. However, according to the Constitution and Panchayat Raj provisions, elections cannot be postponed even for a day after the completion of a panchayat's five-year term. Furthermore, outgoing sarpanches whose terms have completed and who are no longer public representatives are merely private individuals. Therefore, such private individuals cannot be appointed as administrators in panchayats as per the rules. Regarding the postponement of municipal elections, it was argued that the state government had appointed administrators without authority to postpone elections in 55 municipalities whose terms expired in November 2024. By adopting this arbitrary approach, the government had blatantly violated constitutional provisions and the Municipal Act, 2009. They said that the Supreme Court had stated that local body elections cannot be postponed except in the case of natural disasters, but in the case of municipal elections, the government had failed to fulfill its constitutional duty. In its defence, the state government said that it was proposing to test the concept of "One State, One Election" in the state. A high-level committee was also to be formed for this purpose. The committee proposed to test the concept of "One State, One Election" to save money, labour, and time, as well as to empower urban bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions. The government said that the previous government had created several new districts, nine of which have been abolished. In such a situation, along with the demarcation of district boundaries, the reorganization of panchayats and the delimitation of municipal bodies is underway in the state, hence the government has postponed the elections for these panchayats....