New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Thursday, stayed the Haryana law which required aspiring panchayat election candidates to have cleared their class 10 examination. The decision would prove to be a setback for the Manohar Lal Khattar government.

A bench of Justice J Chelameswar stayed the operation of the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015, passed by the state assembly on September 7, after the petition challenging the amended law was mentioned before the court.

While staying the operation of the amended provision providing for educational qualifications for contesting the local body elections, the court also issued notice to the Haryana government and the Election Commission.

Under the amended law, a person from the general category should have passed the class 10 examinations and a Dalit should have passed class 8 to be eligible to contest the local body elections.

The court was moved by the Communist Party of India-Marxist's woman wing, the All India Democratic Women Association, Rajbala and others.

The court order came after senior counsel Sanjay Parikh and Kirti Singh, appearing for the petition, mentioned the matter before the court.

(IANS)