H. SHIVAPRASAD S/O LATE HONNALAGAIAH Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND PANCHAYATH RAJ, VIKASA SOUDHA, BANGALORE-560001 AND THE REGIONAL COMMISSIONER II FLOOR (SIC) BUILDING, K.H. ROAD, S

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SINCE common questions of fact and law are involved in all these writ petitions, they are clubbed together, heard and disposed of by this common order. In these cases, the petitioners have sought for quashing the notification bearing No. GRA.A.Pa.227.Gi.Pa.Sa. 2012(11) dated 29.9.2012 at Annexure A' issued by the second respondent in so far as reservation made to the post of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha in the Taluk Panchayaths under the provisions of the Karnataka Panchayath Raj Act, 1993 (for short 'the Act') and Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Reservation of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha of Taluk Panchayath) Rules, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules').

(2.) IN W.P. Nos. 41556 to 41557/2012, the petitioners are challenging the notification at Annexure 'A' in so far as reservation made to the post of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha in the Taluk Panchayat of Davanagere District and for a direction to the respondents to reserve the post of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha of Honnali Taluk Panchayath to Scheduled Tribe category in the ensuing election. The contention of the petitioners is that the 4th respondent -Taluk Panchayat consists of 21 members, out of which 11 seats were reserved for General Category and in that 5 seats were reserved for General Women and 4 seats were reserved for Scheduled Caste Category and in that 2 seats were reserved for Scheduled Caste Women category and 2 seats were reserved for Scheduled Tribe category and in that 1 seat was reserved for Scheduled tribe Women category, another seat reserved for Scheduled Tribe Men Category and 3 seats were reserved for Backward Class -A category in which 2 seats had been reserved for Backward Class -A Women Category. Pursuant to the election held to the Honnali Taluk Panchayat, 11 members were elected from Congress Party, 9 members from Bharathiya Janatha Party and one member from independent. The petitioners are fully eligible and qualified to contest to the post of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha of the Panchayath. It is further contended that the office of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha in the Taluk Panchath has never been reserved or allotted for the Scheduled Tribe Category since the inception. In respect of the previous term, first petitioner has challenged the reservation for the post of Adhyaksha, which was reserved for BCA (W) in W.P. No. 6915/2011. This Court while striking down various provisos to Rule 5 has observed various illegalities in the rotation of reservation for the post of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha for the Panchayath.

(3.) IN W.P. No. 42007/2012, the petitioner has challenged the notification in so far as reservation of the post of Adhyaksha of Ramanagara Taluk Panchayath. According to him, in the notification dated 25.1.2011, the office of Adhyaksha was reserved for General Women and the seat of Upadhyaksha was reserved for Scheduled Tribe Women. Therefore, it should not have been once again reserved for General Women. On the contrary, it should have been reserved for General Category.