HC quashes govt order creating 84 new panchayats

Kerala High Court today quashed a government order forming new village panchayats by carving out parts of 84 villages.
Disposing of 43 petitions, Justice A V Ramakrishna Pillai set aside the government order of Apr 25 this year stating that it was issued without prior notification of Governor under Art 243(g) of the Constitution.
The process of formation of new panchayats has been affected through different modes by bifurcating certain existing panchayats.
In certain cases, wards of existing panchayats were added to the newly formed panchayats.
Eventhough the government issued a subsequent notification of Governor on July 10, the court said this can be acted upon during the election to be conducted to local bodies in 2020.

By this judgement, the election to local bodies, due this year, has to be conducted on the basis of earlier delimitation.