Jaipur: The Rajasthan high court Tuesday deferred hearing on a contempt petition over the delay in conducting panchayat and urban local body elections after Justice Inderjeet Singh recused himself from the case. The matter now will be heard by another bench on July 16.Ahead of the hearing, the state govt moved an application seeking time till Nov 2026 to complete the elections, citing the pending exercise of OBC political reservation and the scale of the electoral process. It also sought a separate hearing on its application, which is yet to be decided.The application was filed in response to a contempt petition by independent MLA Sanyam Lodha, who alleged wilful non-compliance with the court’s directions to hold the elections within the prescribed timeline.The state govt told the court that nearly 50% of Rajasthan’s population belongs to the OBC category, making it constitutionally necessary to finalise political reservation before notifying the elections. It said the Rajasthan OBC Commission is expected to submit its report by Aug 14, with reservation details likely to be finalised by Aug 31.The State Election Commission informed the govt that it would require 90 days thereafter to conduct elections to nearly 14,000 gram panchayats and more than 300 urban local bodies.The contempt petition arises from the high court’s Nov 14, 2025, order directing the state to complete the elections by April 15, 2026. The Supreme Court upheld the deadline on Dec 19, 2025.
