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Shimla, May 6
:
Himachal Pradesh High Court has stayed a recent clarification issued by the Panchayati Raj Department that had declared ASHA workers disqualified from contesting Panchayat elections in the state.
A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma passed the interim order Wednesday while hearing a petition filed by Reena Devi and others challenging the department’s clarification dated May 2, 2026.
The Panchayati Raj Department, through its recent notification, had held that ASHA workers were engaged on a part-time basis with fixed honorarium and performance-based incentives and therefore attracted disqualification under Section 122(1)(g) of the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994. The clarification had virtually barred ASHA workers from contesting Panchayat elections.
However, the High Court observed that the petitioners had made out a prima facie case for interim protection. The court stayed the operation of the clarification till further orders.
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During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners argued that ASHA workers are not regular government employees and are merely voluntary activists working under Government of India guidelines. The petitioners relied upon official ASHA guidelines stating that an ASHA worker “would be an honorary volunteer and would not receive any salary or honorarium.”
The petitioners also referred to an earlier Panchayati Raj Department clarification issued on September 15, 2019, wherein the department itself had stated that ASHA workers are neither contractual nor regular government servants and therefore cannot be disqualified from becoming office bearers of Panchayats.
The High Court noted that ASHA workers are not employees of the Panchayati Raj Department and issued notices to the State Government and State Election Commission, granting them two weeks to file replies. The matter will next be heard on June 1.
The controversy had emerged amid wider scrutiny of eligibility norms for Panchayat elections in Himachal Pradesh, where the State Election Commission and Panchayati Raj Department recently issued multiple clarifications regarding categories eligible or disqualified from contesting local body polls.
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