Agartala: May 17: Social activist, lawyer, and Tipra Motha party spokesperson Antony Debbarma has once again approached the Tripura High Court, filing a second contempt petition against the state government and the State Election Commission. He alleges willful disobedience of the court’s previous directive to conduct long-pending Village Committee (VC) elections in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
The VC elections, originally due in 2021, were supposed to be conducted by the end of 2024 following affidavits submitted by the state authorities after Debbarma’s initial PIL in 2022. Despite the High Court’s order and the submission of formal commitments, the elections remain stalled.
Debbarma criticized the delay as “deliberate neglect” of the constitutional and democratic rights of indigenous communities. He pointed out that while other elections—Parliamentary, Assembly, Panchayat, and Municipal—have been held on time, the TTAADC’s VC polls have been delayed for over five years.
“This is a clear violation of Articles 243A and 243B of the Constitution, which mandate timely and regular conduct of local body elections. Despite the High Court’s ruling, the government and the election commission have chosen to ignore it,” he said.
Debbarma emphasized that the repeated delays reflect a deeper issue of “systematic discrimination” and disregard for tribal development. He accused the authorities of betraying the promises of inclusive governance symbolized by slogans like ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.
With his second contempt petition now filed, court proceedings are expected to begin shortly. The case has drawn increasing attention from tribal rights groups and political observers, as it may set an important precedent for electoral justice and constitutional accountability in tribal governanc
