The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday directed the State Election Commission to specify by when it will be able to conduct long-pending municipal elections across the state.
Justice Ananda Sen was hearing a contempt petition filed by former ward councillor Roshni Khalko against the government for not holding civic body elections despite a January 2024 high court order directing polls to be conducted within three weeks.
Chief Secretary Avinash Kumar, Home Secretary Vandana Dadel, and Urban Development Department Secretary Gyanendra Kumar appeared before the court during the hearing. The bench expressed strong dissatisfaction with the state’s delay in conducting the elections and pulled up the senior bureaucrats for the tardy progress.
The court asked the Election Commission to furnish a de