Imphal, August 30: The High Court of Manipur on Friday directed the state government to conduct long-pending panchayat elections within six months, bringing clarity to the prolonged delay in local body polls.

The directive came from a division bench comprising Chief Justice Kempaiah Somashekar and Justice Guneshwar Sharma while hearing petitions challenging the non-conduct of polls. Panchayat elections in Manipur were last held in 2017, and fresh elections, originally due in June 2023, have been pending ever since. In the interim, Panchayati Raj institutions have been run through administrative committees appointed by the state.

The court, while stressing the importance of democratic functioning at the grassroots, observed that the state government could appoint new administrative committees for gram panchayats and administrators for zilla parishads but only for a maximum period of six months. It quashed earlier government orders that extended the tenure of such committees beyond the stipulated time frame, calling them unsustainable.

“All orders of appointment of the administrative committee of the gram panchayat and administrator for zilla parishad, issued by the state government in pursuance of the interim order dated 29.02.2024 for a term exceeding six months and till the elections are held, are hereby quashed,” the bench ruled.

With this order, the High Court has set a strict deadline for the government to conduct fresh elections within six months, while permitting only temporary arrangements until then. The ruling is expected to restore the democratic functioning of Panchayati Raj institutions in Manipur, which have been without elected representatives for more than two years.