Rajasthan HC Terms Delimitation of 627 Gram Panchayats Void; Sarpanch Elections on hold :

1. The state has moved to the Supreme Court through a special leave petition against the high court order.While deciding on the challenge to the delimitation notification of 627 gram panchayats in Rajasthan, the high court has termed it void.

2. The state has now moved the Supreme Court through a special leave petition against the high court order, the hearing for which is scheduled on January 8, 2020.The notifications issued after November 15-16 were challenged in the HC, and the court turned them void. The delimitation has reconstituted 449 gram panchayats and created 178 new gram panchayats because of which elections can’t be processed. This means that out of the 11,142 gram panchayats in Rajasthan, only 9,171 will go to polls during the panchayati raj elections.

3. The SEC had announced the dates for elections to 9,171 gram panchayats and 90,400 ward panchs which will be held in three phases in 2020 – January 17, 22 and 29.

4. In the first phase, scheduled on January 17, elections will be held for the posts of 80 sarpanchs and 860 ward panchs. In the second phase, scheduled on January 22, elections will be held for the posts of 80 sarpanchs and 954 ward panchs. In the third phase, scheduled on January 29, the elections will be held for the posts of 83 sarpanchs and 901 ward panchs.

5. In the 1,952 gram panchayats, the voter’s list have been issued but it would be finalised on January 22. The tenure of the remaining 19 gram panchayats hasn’t yet come to an end.

Panchyati Raj System of Rajasthan :

In 1953, the Rajasthan Panchayat Act was enacted and village Panchayats were established throughout the state. Rajasthan has the distinction of being a pioneer in accepting the scheme of democratic decentralization envisaging a three-tier system of representative bodies at the village, block, and district levels. The system later came to be known as Panchayati Raj, which was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 2 October 1959 at Nagour in Rajasthan.

The first elections under the Rajasthan Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads Act, 1959 were held in September-October 1959. With the already existing Panchayats at the village level under the Rajasthan Panchayat Act, 1953, the three-tier scheme of Panchayati Raj began functioning on 2 October 1959. 73rd amendment of Constitution of India (1993) empowered local governments – rural, as constitutional entities and initiated a new chapter in the process of democratic decentralization in India.

Rajasthan's Panchayati Raj Act was passed on 23-04-1994 pursuant to the 73rd Amendment Act,1992. This came into effect on April 23,1994. The Act incorporated mandatory provisions of the 73rd Amendment, besides a few others such as the procedure of Gram Sabhas and reservation for OBCs in their membership and chairpersonship. The Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 provides functions and powers of PRIs. The Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Election) Rules, 1994 were framed for conducting fair elections. The Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996 were framed and made eff ective from 30 December 1996 for the smooth functioning of PRIs. For extending these provisions to scheduled areas, the Rajasthan Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) (PESA) Act, 1999 was enacted. Certain important amendments were made in 1999,2000 and 2004