HC directs Uttarakhand to frame law to prevent horse-trading in Zila panchayat, BDC polls

Hearing writ petitions filed by two individuals -- Ashirwad Goshwami and Vipul Jain, the High Court issued directions to the Uttarkhand government and the state Election Commission to prevent wrongdoings in these elections.

A division bench of Justices Ramesh Rangnath and Alok Kumar Verma had reserved its verdict on the petitions on October 1 which was pronounced on Thursday.

The court has asked the government and the Election Commission (EC) to ensure that incidents of corruption and horse-trading do not take place in the elections.

In its 67-page judgement, the court asked the Election Commission to appoint officers with whom complaints of irregularities and wrongdoings related to these elections could be lodged.

The bench asked the EC to communicate to the candidate about the possible outcomes of wrongdoings including suspension of elections and directed it to reduce the time period for the elections from two-three months to just seven to 10 days.

The court also asked the commission to take cognizance of incidents of malpractices based on information and newspaper reports and file an FIR accordingly, instead of waiting for written complaints.