Justice Sam Koshy and Justice Chalapathi Rao of the Telangana High Court on Thursday made it clear that courts cannot step into the election process once the State Election Commission issues a notification for panchayat polls.

The Bench was hearing a batch of petitions questioning the reservation pattern in several villages, including Mahmudapatnam of Warangal district, where three ward seats and the Sarpanch post were reserved for the ST community despite there being only six ST voters in the entire panchayat.

The Bench observed that Article 243-O of the Constitution bars judicial interference after an election notification is issued. Even if the petitioners’ concerns carry some merit, the court said intervention is possible only before notification or after the elections conclude. Inte

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