STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Vs. DEVILAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The issue involved in this appeal on certificate from a judgment and order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dated January 4, 1972 is as to the powers of the State Government under S. 106 of the Madhya Pradesh Panchayats Act, 1962 to modify or alter the constituencies of the block once delimited by a notification issued thereunder after the process of election of members of the Janapada Panchayat has started; particularly, without affording an opportunity to the electorate to raise any objection. On the question involved, conflicting views have been expressed by two Division Benches of the High Court and the High Court certifies that the question raised is one of frequent occurrence and great importance.

(2.) By the judgment under appeal, a Division Bench of the High Court has held that the provisions of the Act do not confer any power on the State Government to modify or alter the constituencies once fixed by a notification issued under sub-s. (1) of S. 106 of the Act and fixing the number of members to be elected from each constituency. it accordingly struck down the impugned notification issued by the State Government dated Nov. 25, 1970 under Ss. 105 and 106 of the Act purporting to re-structure the constituencies of the Manasa Block

(3.) Put very briefly, the essential facts are them After the establishment of Gram Sabhas throughout the State under S. 3 of the Act, the State Government in accordance with S. 103 divided the Mandsaur District into eight blocks with Manasa Block as one of them where a Janapada Panchayat was to be established. Under Ss. 105 and 106 of the Act, the State Government by a notification dated Sept. 26, 1969 divided this Block into twenty constituencies from which the representatives of the Janapada Panchayat, Manasa were to be elected, with one representative to be elected from each constituency. After the constituencies were notified, the elections to the Gram Panchayats in the block were completed on Nov. 8, 1970 and they were duly notified by the Collector, Mandsaur on Nov. 14, 1970. On the same day, the new Gram Panchayats assumed office. On Nov. 25,1970, the State Government published a notification purporting to be under S. 106 of the Act for a re-distribution of the constituencies of the block. On Nov. 29, 1970, the Collector also issued a notification reallocating the reserved seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The respondent who had been elected as the Sarpanch of the Gram Sabha, Allied and was thus qualified to contest the elections of the President and Vice-President of the Janapada Panchayat, Manasa, filed a petition in the High Court under Art. 226 of the Constitution challenging the validity of the impugned notification dated Nov. 25, 1970 issued by the State Government for redelimitation of the constituencies of the block and the notification by the Collector dated Nov. 29, 1970 for the reallocation of the reserved seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, In assailing the validity of the impugned notification dated Nov. 25, 1970, the respondent pleaded, inter alia, that the State Government had no statutory power under S. 106 of the Act to alter or modify the constituencies once the same had been notified and the process of election had started that the issuance of the impugned notification was mala fide and politically motivated with a view to further the prospects of the party in power and that, even otherwise, assuming that there was such a power in the State Government to alter or modify the constituencies of a block during the progress of election to the Janapada Panchayat, the impugned notification for re-distribution of the constituencies for the Manasa Block was illegal and inoperative as it had been published without affording an opportunity to the electorate to raise any objection. The respondent, accordingly, sought a writ in the nature of mandamus and other appropriate writs, orders and directions. under Art. 226 of the Constitution directing the State Government to forebear from giving effect to the impugned notifications.