Manipur High Court Strikes Down 1996 Law Allowing Panchayat Members to Stay Beyond 5-Year Term

The Manipur High Court has quashed a 1996 amendment to the Panchayat Raj Act that allowed panchayat members to continue in office beyond their five-year tenure.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Kempaiah Somashekar and Justice A Guneshwar Sharma held the amendment unconstitutional for violating Article 243E of the Constitution, which fixes the maximum term of a panchayat at five years.

Restoring the original provision, the Court “read down” the law to replace “continue” with “cease” in Section 22(3), preventing dual authority between expired panchayat members and administrative committees.

The State has been directed to conduct fresh elections within six months.

[Mayanglambam Joykumar Singh & Anr v The State of Manipur & Ors]