GG News Bureau
Hyderabad, 25th June: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed the state government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to conduct gram panchayat elections across the state within three months, setting a deadline of September 30, 2025. Justice T. Madhavi Devi issued the order while pronouncing judgment on a batch of petitions filed by former sarpanches challenging the delay in local body polls.
The court firmly rejected the state’s request for additional time and instructed officials to complete the ward delimitation process within 30 days. Justice Devi emphasized that the long-pending elections, already overdue by 18 months, must be conducted without further delay.
The term of the last elected panchayats expired on January 31, 2024, and since then, governance in rural Telangana has been functioning under special officers — a move the petitioners argued violates Articles 243E and 243K of the Constitution as well as provisions of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018.
On Monday, the court had reserved its verdict on six related petitions and delivered the final order today. During earlier hearings, Additional Advocate General Imran Khan had informed the court that the government would need a month to finalize backward class (BC) reservations in local bodies in compliance with Supreme Court directives. Senior counsel Vidyasagar, appearing for the SEC, stated that the Commission would be ready to conduct elections within 60 days of the government’s notification on reservations.
The petitioners sought either the extension of their tenure or immediate elections, highlighting that their removal and replacement with special officers was unconstitutional. They also claimed to have personally financed village development projects and requested reimbursement.
Welcoming the High Court’s directive, several former sarpanches said governance at the village level has stagnated in the absence of elected representatives. “This order restores the voice of the people in rural Telangana,” said one petitioner, expressing relief that grassroots democracy will soon be back in action.
