SC upholds Haryana law on education norms for panchayat poll

In a landmark decision that will serve as a precedent to prevent illiterate persons from participating in grassroots democracy, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Haryana State law stipulating that only those who have minimum educational qualification among other criteria will be eligible to contest panchayat elections in the State.

A Bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Abhay Manohar Sapre upheld the amendments cleared by the Haryana State Assembly in 2015 that made it mandatory for those contesting panchayat elections to have functional toilets at their homes and not be loan defaulters.

Meanwhile, the State Election Commission on Thursday said it will soon set in motion the process for conduct of panchayat polls after the Supreme Court upheld a new law in Haryana mandating minimum educational qualifications as a prerequisite for the contestants.

“We will send a proposal to the state government immediately after we get the operative part of the Supreme Court judgement.

“After getting the nod from the government, the process of holding the (panchayat) polls, which had been put on hold in view of the apex court hearing the petition, will be set in motion once again,” Haryana State Election Commissioner Rajeev Sharma said.

The model code was put on hold from September 24 in view of the Supreme Court hearing the petition that challenged the validity of Haryana’s Panchayati Raj (amendment) Act 2015 which fixes matriculation as essential qualification for general candidates contesting panchayat polls.

The qualification for women (general) and Scheduled Caste candidates has been fixed at Class VIII.

Understandably, the ruling BJP in the state has welcomed the Supreme Court verdict.

“The Supreme Court verdict on the panchayat poll issue has proved that Haryana Government’s thought and direction of work are correct,” State Health Minister Anil Vij tweeted.

Veteran Congress leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “I am yet to go through the verdict. I don’t know on what ground the writ petition has been dismissed.” 

Hooda had earlier said that before fixing minimum educational criteria for contestants of panchayat polls, the BJP government in the state and at the Centre should do the same for MPs and MLAs.

State’s principal opposition party INLD, which had slammed the Khattar government alleging that it showed haste in fixing the education criteria, on Thursday said their views remain the same.