Free and fair elections have always been considered to be the cornerstone of Indian democracy. However, free and fair processes can be incorporated only if elections are conducted in the first place. This paper deals with the unique and pressing issue of delayed elections for local self-governmental bodies. The Supreme Court of India has, in several cases, struck down state legislations that extended the tenures of local self-governing bodies (such as panchayats, parishads, and samitis). They were held to be in violation of the mandatory time limits provided by the Indian Constitution. Through this paper, the authors seek to showcase the blatant non-adherence and flagrant violation of these judgments and highlight the constitutional issues which arise from them. First, since elections are not being held, it allows the incumbents to be in power for a longer time than constitutionally stipulated. This indicates a semblance of a tyrannical regime since such a monopoly cannot be kept in check with the existing democratic safeguards. Second, the independence of the State Election Commission is challenged since it is due to their failure and incompetence that this problem originally arose. Third, an investigation into the public finances held by these incumbents highlights a usurpation and misuse of public funds during their ‘temporary’ posts. These judgments have merely ordered the States to conduct the elections in these states, without examining these intricate foundational obstructions, leaving a constitutional hiatus between legal adjudication and practical reality. Through this paper, the authors aim to conduct a thorough and intricate investigation to explore this prevalent vacuum, which has neither been judicially addressed nor legislatively explored. While the States have argued that the continuous delay of elections for the local self-government bodies is due to judicially imposed administrative formalities, this paper aims to discern reasons to the contrary.
