Constitution of India – Art.243-O – Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016 – The Uttarakhand State Election Commission issued a revised notification resuming the Panchayat elections in the State – Pursuant thereto, respondent no.1 submitted his nomination for election to the post of Zila Panchayat – On failure to make requisite disclosures, the Returning Officer, vide order dated 09.07.2025, cancelled the candidature of respondent no.1 – Aggrieved, respondent no.1 filed a writ petition before the High Court, which was dismissed, observing that the election process had already set in motion – The present appellant was declared elected unopposed to the office of Zila Panchayat Member – In an intra-court appeal, the Division Bench, vide the impugned interim order, stayed the operation of the judgment rendered by the Single Judge and directed the Returning Officer to allot a symbol to respondent no.1 (the writ petitioner) and to permit him to participate in the election to the office of Zila Panchayat Member – Correctness: Held: In considered view of this Court, the Division Bench transgressed the limits of its jurisdiction in interfering with the electoral process, in disregard of the settled position of law – By virtue of the express constitutional embargo contained in Art.243-O of the Constitution of India, the High Court is precluded from exercising jurisdiction u/Art.226 of the Constitution where a law enacted by the State Legislature provides for the remedy of an election petition to redress grievances arising during the course of an election – The State of Uttarakhand has enacted the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016 – Consequently, the bar envisaged u/Art.243-O of the Constitution stands attracted – The election process cannot be lightly interdicted or stalled at the behest of an individual grievance – The right to contest or question an election being statutory in nature, must be strictly construed and exercised in accordance with the statute governing the field – The High Court must, therefore, eschew the grant of liberal interim reliefs in favour of individuals and instead remain mindful of the overarching public interest in ensuring the smooth and uninterrupted conduct of elections across the State – In respect of individual grievances, the ultimate and exclusive remedy lies by way of an election petition – Given the non-obstante nature of Art.243-O of the Constitution, its mandate is required to be adhered to in both letter and spirit – Where the statute provides a complete and efficacious mechanism for redressal, the extraordinary exercise of jurisdiction u/Art.226 of the Constitution would defeat the very object for which Art.243-O was enacted as a non-obstante provision – Accordingly, the interim order dated 18.07.2025, passed by the High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital in Special Appeal No.192 of 2025 is set aside. [Paras 9, 10, 12]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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