Conduct panchayat polls in 3 months: Court to Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad, Oct 23 (IANS) The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday directed the Andhra Pradesh government to conduct panchayat elections within three months.The court struck down a recent government order appointing special officers for the panchayats.The High Court was dealing with a petition filed by a group of former sarpanches challenging the government's decision to run the administration in the villages with special officers after the term of the elected bodies ended in July.The petitioners argued that the government was running the administration of local bodies in an undemocratic manner without conducting the elections. They submitted to the court that running the local bodies with special officers would hamper development in the villages.The court agreed with the contention and directed the state government to conduct the polls within three months.The High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is the common High Court for both the Telugu-speaking states.
--IANS ms/mag/sed