Jaipur, May 27 (IANS) Former Rajasthan MLA and petitioner in the Panchayat and Urban Local Body elections case, Sanyam Lodha, on Wednesday filed a caveat petition in the Supreme Court concerning the Rajasthan High Court’s recent judgment directing the state to conduct local body and Panchayat elections by July 31, 2026.

Through the caveat, Lodha has requested that if the Rajasthan government or the State Election Commission files an appeal against the High Court’s order, no decision should be passed by the Supreme Court without first hearing his side.

The development comes after the Rajasthan High Court, in its order dated May 22, directed the state government to complete Panchayat and Urban Local Body elections by July 31 and instructed the OBC Commission to submit its report by June 20.

Earlier, while deciding 439 petitions on November 14, 2025, the High Court had ordered the state government to conduct the elections by April 15, 2026.

However, the elections were not held within the stipulated period, following which the state government sought additional time from the court.

During the proceedings, the state government cited the pending OBC Commission report and prevailing circumstances as reasons for postponing the elections.

On the other hand, petitioners Sanyam Lodha and Girraj Singh Devanda said that the state government had been deliberately delaying the electoral process for nearly one-and-a-half years.

In its observations, the High Court said that weather-related reasons such as heat or rain could not be accepted as grounds for delaying elections in Rajasthan.

The court emphasised that conducting elections is a statutory and mandatory obligation of the government and asserted that delays on the part of the OBC Commission should not become an impediment to the democratic process.

Following the High Court’s directive, there is a possibility that the state government or the State Election Commission may move the Supreme Court challenging the order, officials said.

–IANS

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