PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Nainital The Uttarakhand High Court has clarified that it has not ordered a stay on the three-tier Panchayat election process. Stating that the petition filed in the court too does not seek a stay on the election process, the division bench of chief justice G Narendar and justice Alok Mahra maintained the stay it had ordered on July 11 on the State Election Commission’s circular which had stated that citizens with names in multiple voters list should not be barred from contesting the Panchayat election. During the hearing on Monday, the SEC counsel requested the court to vacate its stay. The court responded by stating that its order was in accordance with the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act. The HC stated that neither had it ordered a stay on the election process nor had the petitioner approached the court to stall the polls. The petition by Shakti Singh Barthwal was against the circular issued by the SEC on July 6, considering which the HC had ordered a stay on the said circular. It is pertinent to mention here that the issue revolves around people with names in the voters list of both Panchayat areas and urban local bodies being allowed to contest the three-tier Panchayat elections.
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