RAJEEV K Vs. KERALA STATE ELECTION COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein is a resident of Amarambalam Grama Panchayat in Malappuram District. Amarambalam Grama Panchayat is one among the 7 Grama Panchayats in Kalikavu Block Panchayat. The office of President of Amarambalam Grama Panchayat was reserved in favour of the scheduled caste s in the first ever elections held after the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 was enacted. In the elections held in the year 2005, the office of President of Amarambalam Grama Panchayat was reserved in favour of women candidates and in the ensuing elections, it has been reserved in favour of the scheduled castes by Notification No.214/2010/SEC dated 26.8.2010, published in the Kerala Gazette (Extra ordinary) dated 26.8.2010. The petitioner challenges the reservation of office of President of Amarambalam Grama Panchayat in favour of the scheduled castes on the ground that the State Election Commission has failed to correctly apply the rule of rotation set out in clauses (b), (c) and (d) of sub-section (4) of section 153 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. The petitioner contends that if the rule of rotation had been correctly applied, the office of President of some other Grama Panchyat either in Kalikavu Block Panchayat or from other Block Panchayats should have been reserved.

(2.) The State Election Commission has filed a statement dated 23.9.2010 justifying the action taken by them. A reading of the statement would indicate that the Commission has not gone by the percentage of population of the scheduled caste s in the whole of Malappuram district. It has only gone by the percentage of population of the scheduled castes in Kalikavu Block Panchayat. I have by judgment delivered today in W.P.(C) No.27264 of 2010 and connected cases held that for identifying the Grama Panchayat in which the office of President has to be reserved, State Election Commission has to go by the percentage of population of the scheduled castes in the various Panchayats in the district and that the Election Commission cannot confine the rotation to a particular Block Panchayat. In the view that I have taken, the decision taken by the State Election Commission to reserve the office of President of Amarambalam Grama Panchayat in favour of the scheduled castes in the ensuing elections cannot be sustained.

(3.) In the result, I allow the writ petition, set aside the decision taken by the State Election Commission to reserve the office of President of Amarambalam Grama Panchayat in favour of the scheduled castes, and direct the State Election Commission to re- examine the issue and to reserve the office of President of another Grama Panchayat having regard to the percentage of population of the scheduled castes in the various Grama Panchayats of Malappuram District. This exercise shall be carried out expeditiously and in any event before the election notification is issued. The State Election Commission shall also issue a corrigendum notification suitably amending Notification No.214/2010/SEC dated 26.8.2010, published in the Kerala Gazette (Extra ordinary) dated 26.8.2010.