P R RAMESH Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WHETHER sub-section (2) of Section 10 of the Karnataka municipal Corporations Act, 1976 (for short the act') which provides for a one year tenure of a Mayor from the date of his election contravenes any provision of Part IX-A of the constitution and is constitutionally invalid is the short question which arises for consideration in this bunch of three cases two of which are writ appeals (Writ Appeal No. 3005-06 and 3416 of 2004) and the third is a writ petition (Writ Petition No. 43155 of 2004 ). Learned counsel for the parties are agreed that the decision in Writ Appeal No. 3416 of 2004 will govern the other cases as well since common questions of law and fact arise in all the cases. The main arguments were addressed in Writ Appeal No. 3416 of 2004 and therefore-the facts are being taken from this case.

(2.) ELECTIONS to the Bangalore City Corporation (hereinafter called 'the Corporation')were held on 28-11-2001 and the appellant was elected as a Councillor. The term of office of a Councillor is for a period of 5 years which will end on 27-11-2006. The appellant was elected as the Chairperson/mayor of the Corporation on 28-11-2003 and according to the provisions of sub-section (2)of Section 10 of the Act he was to hold office for one year from the date of his election. His grievance is that having been elected as a Mayor on 28-11-2003 his term as such is not co-terminus with his tenure as a Councillor and that the provisions of Section 10 (2)of the Act which provide for a one year tenure of a Mayor from the date of his election are constitutionally invalid and contravene the provisions of Article 243-U of the Constitution.

(3.) PART IX-A of the Constitution which deals with Municipalities was inserted in the constitution by the Constitution (Seventy-fourth) Amendment Act, 1992 which came into force with effect from 1-6-1993. The term 'municipality' has been defined in clause (e) of Article 243 -P to mean an institution of self-Government constituted under Article 243-Q. Article 243-Q provides that there shall be constituted in every State, amongst others, a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area in accordance with the provisions of this part. Article 243-R deals with the composition of Municipalities and it reads as under : "243-R. Composition of Municipalities - (1) Save as provided in clause (2), all the seats in a Municipality shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from the territorial constituencies in the Municipal area and for this purpose each Municipal area shall be divided into territorial constituencies to be known as wards. (2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide- (a) for the representation in a Municipality of- (i) persons having special knowledge or experience in Municipal administration; (ii) the members of the House of the people and the members of the Legislative assembly of the State representing constituencies which comprise wholly or partly the municipal area; (iii) the members of the Council of States and the members of the Legislative Council of the State registered as electors within the municipal area; (iv) the Chairpersons of the Committees constituted under clause (5) of Article 243-S : provided that the persons referred to in paragraph (I) shall not have the right to vote in the meetings of the Municipality; (b) the manner of election of the Chairperson of a Municipality article 243-U deals with the duration of municipalities and it provides that every municipality, unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer. At this stage, it would be necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of Sections 8 and 10 of the Act which are reproduced hereun-der for facility of reference. "8. Term of office of Councillors : (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the term of office of Councillors,- (i) directly elected at a general election shall be five years; (ii) nominated by the Government under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 7 shall, subject to the pleasure of the Government, be five years. (2) The term of office of the Councillors shall commence on the date appointed for the first meeting of the Corporation. (3) to (5 ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' "10. Mayor and Deputy Mayor : (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1-A), the Corporation shall, at its first meeting after a general election of Councillors and at its first meeting in the same month in each year thereafter, elect,- (a) one of its Councillors referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 7 to be the Mayor, and (b) one other Councillor referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 7 to be the Deputy Mayor. (1-A ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2) The Mayor or the Deputy Mayor shall hold office for one year from the date of his election and shall, notwithstanding the expiry of the said period, continue in office till his successor is elected, provided that in the meantime he does not cease to be a Councillor. (3) to (7 ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " (Emphasis supplied)A reading of the relevant provisions of Part ix-A of the Constitution would make it clear that the constitutional requirement is that a Municipal Corporation is to be constituted in every State for a larger urban area and subject to the provisions of clause (2) of Article 243-R all the seats therein have to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from the territorial constituencies in the municipal area and for this purpose each municipal area is divided into territorial constituencies called the wards. Sub-clause (b)of clause (2) of Article 243-R leaves no room for doubt that the legislature of a State has to, by law, provide for the manner of election of the Chairperson of a Municipality. Once a Municipality has been constituted it shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer unless. it is dissolved earlier under any law for the time being in force. The Karnataka state Legislature had enacted the Act in the year 1976 and the provisions of Section 8 thereof were amended by Act No. 35 of 1994 and those were brought in consonance with the provisions of Part 1x-A of the Constitution. Section 8 of the Act as it stands after the amendment in 1994 provides that the term of office of the Councillors at a general election shall be five years which shall commence on the date appointed for the first meeting of the Corporation. So far as the duration of the office of the Mayor or the deputy Mayor of the Corporation is concerned, sub-section (2) of Section 10 of the act provides that they shall hold office for one year from the date of their election. It is, thus, clear that the duration of a Corporation shall be five years but the period for which a Mayor or a Deputy Mayor will hold office shall be one year from the date of their election as such. As already observed, sub-clause (b) of clause (2) of Article 243-R leaves it to the State Legislature to determine the manner in which the Chairperson of a Municipality (Corporation) has to be elected. The word 'manner' as used in Article 243-R (2) (b) would include the mode in which the election is to take place and also the duration for which the chairperson/mayor/deputy Mayor shall hold office. Section 10 of the Act provides the mode in which a mayor/deputy Mayor shall be elected from amongst the directly elected Councillors of the Corporation and sub-section (2) provides the period for which they shall hold office which would be one year from the date of their election. There is, thus, no inconsistency between the provisions of sub-section (2) of Section 10 of the Act and the provisions of Part IX-A of the Constitution which deals with Municipalities. Whether the term of office of a Chairperson/mayor should be co-terminus with that of the Corporation or for a period less than that has been left by the Constitution for the State Legislature to determine. There is no provision in Part IX-A of the Constitution which requires that the office of a Chairperson/mayor of a Municipality (Corporation) should be co-terminus with that of the Corporation. If that had been the intention then Article 243r would not have left it to the State Legislature to provide for the manner of election of the chairperson of a Municipality. Article 243u has fixed the duration of the Municipalities. It could have also fixed the period for which its Chairpersons would hold office but that has not been done. We have, therefore, no hesitation in holding that the provisions of sub-section (2) of Section 10 of the Act do not violate any provision of Part IX-A of the constitution and that the said provisions are constitutionally valid.