Constitution Section 243E — Duration of Panchayats, etc

Part IX — THE PANCHAYATS

Constitutional

Summary

A Panchayat is meant to last for five years from the date of its first meeting, unless it is dissolved earlier under a valid law. Changing the law later cannot cut short the term of a Panchayat that is already in office. Elections for a new Panchayat must be held before the five-year term ends, or within six months after a Panchayat is dissolved. If the remaining time of a dissolved Panchayat’s term is less than six months, no election is needed for that short period, and a new Panchayat formed after a dissolution will only serve the leftover part of the original five-year term.

Official Text

(1) Every Panchayat, unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer.

(2) No amendment of any law for the time being in force shall have the effect of causing dissolution of a Panchayat at any level, which is functioning immediately before such amendment, till the expiration of its duration specified in clause (1).

(3) An election to constitute a Panchayat shall be completed—

(a) before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (1);

(b) before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution:

Provided that where the remainder of the period for which the dissolved Panchayat would have continued is less than six months, it shall not be necessary to hold any election under this clause for constituting the Panchayat for such period.

(4) A Panchayat constituted upon the dissolution of a Panchayat before the expiration of its duration shall continue only for the remainder of the period for which the dissolved Panchayat would have continued under clause (1) had it not been so dissolved.