There may still be time for the three-tier Panchayat elections, but preparations have started for it. In this sequence, there will now be clarity in the matter of the condition of two children to contest elections in Panchayats. If the second child is twins after the first living child, then it will be considered as one unit. That is, people will be able to contest elections even if the number of children including twins is three. For this, the Panchayati Raj Act will be amended. According to sources, the Panchayati Raj Directorate has sent a proposal in this regard to the government, on which deliberations are going on. There is a provision in the Panchayati Raj Act that after 27 September 2019, a person who has more than two children will not be able to contest Panchayat elections. This restriction will not apply to those who have more than two children before this cut off date. Meanwhile, the matter also went to the court regarding the condition of two children. It was about the topic that if a person has a twin after the first living child, then he should also be given the right to contest elections. That is, twin children should be considered as one unit. After the court order, the government issued the order, but the cut off date in it is 25 July 2019. In such a situation, a situation of confusion is also being created. In the light of the Panchayat elections, the State Election Commission has also sent a letter to the government for clarity in this regard. Sources said that the Panchayati Raj Act will be amended regarding the second child being a twin and the cut off date. The government is deliberating on the proposal received in this regard from the Panchayati Raj Directorate. This proposal will be placed in the upcoming cabinet meeting.
Challenge to the provision of disqualifying a candidate with three children in the Municipality Act
The High Court, while hearing the petition challenging the provision of the Municipality Act disqualifying candidates with three children in the Municipality, has issued notice to the Secretary and Director Urban Development and directed them to file a reply within four weeks. The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Pankaj Purohit heard the petition of Naeem Ul Khan, a resident of Kichha in Udham Singh Nagar district. In which Section-3 of Nagar Palika Act Amendment-2003 has been challenged. According to the petitioner, under this provision, anyone who has three children after the year 2003 is disqualified from contesting the municipal elections, whereas under the Panchayat Raj Act of three-tier Panchayats, those who have three children after 27 September 2019 have been disqualified from contesting elections. The petitioner said that earlier he was a resident of a rural area and could contest elections, but now the Nagar Palika is being expanded by including his village, due to which he has become ineligible to contest elections. It is injustice to declare him ineligible to contest elections. The petitioner also says that Nagar Palika Act-1916 has been accepted only of Uttar Pradesh, whereas in the state, an amendment was made in 2002, disqualifying a candidate with three children from contesting elections, it was implemented in Uttarakhand in 2003. The question was raised that when candidates with three children can contest elections in Panchayats before 2019, then why can’t they contest in municipalities. Accepting the petition, the court has issued notice to the Secretary and Director Urban Development and directed them to file reply within four weeks.
