19 october 2024 : On Tuesday, the Supreme Court refused to halt the ongoing panchayat elections in Punjab, stating that it would cause “chaos” if courts intervened on the day of polling.
The panchayat elections began at 8 am, and petitions seeking a stay were brought before a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.
“If polling has already started, how can we intervene now? The high court likely understood the gravity of the situation and lifted the stay on the elections,” said the bench, which also included Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
Chief Justice Chandrachud emphasized that halting the elections on polling day would create chaos. However, the Supreme Court agreed to consider petitions challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision to allow the polls.
This follows a recent ruling by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which dismissed nearly 1,000 petitions seeking the cancellation of the elections. Previously, the high court had paused the election process.