On Monday, the Supreme Court described as "very strange" the fact that 3,000 out of 13,000 panchayat office-bearers were elected unopposed in the recent Punjab elections. The court allowed aggrieved candidates to file election petitions.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, who had previously issued notices in response to a plea that raised concerns over the rejection of nomination papers and other electoral malpractices, stated that the affected individuals can file petitions before the election tribunal, which must resolve them within six months.

The court also noted that candidates whose nomination papers were rejected or torn could approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court with their grievances, emphasising that their pleas could not be dismissed due to limitation period violations. The Chief Justice clarified that the petitions must be evaluated based on their merits.

“We permit the petitioner to file election petitions. The state election commission will decide the petitions within six months, in case of delay petitioners can approach the high court,” the order said.

“In cases where the nominations were rejected or papers torn, they can move review petitions before the high court to be considered as per law… It is the right of petitioners to move this court in case their petitions in the high court are dismissed,” the order added.

During a brief hearing, the CJI expressed shock when the court was apprised that 3,000 odd posts in panchayat posts, out of over 13000, were elected unopposed. “This is very strange! I have never seen such figures… These are significant numbers,” the CJI said.

One of the lawyers alleged that a candidate’s symbol was removed during the elections. The Supreme Court also expressed surprise at the dismissal of hundreds of petitions by the High Court without giving the affected parties a proper hearing. On October 18, the bench issued notice on a plea filed by Sunita Rani and others, alleging irregularities in the panchayat elections held on October 15.

Earlier, a bench led by the then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who has since retired, had on October 15—Election Day—refused to stay the ongoing panchayat polls, citing concerns that halting the process due to alleged nomination irregularities would lead to “chaos.”

Before this, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed nearly 1,000 petitions challenging the panchayat elections, citing the arbitrary rejection of candidates’ nomination papers. The High Court had also ordered videography of the elections and made it clear that no party symbols would be used.