Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], June 28 (ANI): The State Election Commission in Uttarakhand on Saturday issued a notification regarding the conduct of panchayat elections in 12 districts of the state, except Haridwar.

The notification signed by Sushil Kumar, Uttarakhand State Election Commissioner, comes after the Nainital High Court on Friday permitted the continuation of the panchayat election process, lifting its earlier stay order issued on June 23.

According to the notification, the three-tier panchayat elections will be held in two phases in the state.

Voting under the first phase will take place on July 24, and voting under the second phase will take place on July 28. The counting of votes will be done on July 31.

The dates for filing nomination papers for the panchayat elections are set from July 2 to July 5. The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be carried out from July 7 to July 9. The dates for withdrawing nominations are set from July 10 to July 11.

'Therefore, exercising the powers conferred in Article 243-K of the 'Constitution of India', I, Sushil Kumar, State Election Commissioner, Uttarakhand, hereby direct that the elections of members of all the Gram Panchayats, Pradhans of Gram Panchayats, members of Area Panchayats and members of District Panchayats of 12 (twelve) districts of Uttarakhand State (except District Haridwar) will be conducted...' the notification read.

On Friday, after hearing the reservation roster and other documents presented by the government in the Nainital High Court, the division bench of Chief Justice G. Narendra and Justice Alok Mehra agreed to proceed with the process of panchayat elections.

It must be noted that after the announcement of panchayat elections on June 21, on June 23, the High Court gave a big blow by staying the elections and seeking answers from the government on many points, including reservation.

However, an important hearing was held in the Uttarakhand High Court on Friday regarding the much-awaited three-tier panchayat elections in Uttarakhand. While hearing the petitions filed by the petitioners, the court has given interim relief to the state government and allowed it to conduct the panchayat elections.

During the hearing, the advocates on behalf of the state government informed the court that full preparations have been made for the panchayat elections and the legal process has been followed. At the same time, the petitioners raised some technical and constitutional issues.

After hearing the arguments of both parties, the court refused to stay the elections for the time being and clarified that the election process can move forward. (ANI)