STATE OF KERALA Vs. ABDUL GAFOOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals and writ petitions address the same issue regarding the validity of a government notification that increased the number of seats in the Village Panchayat under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, and in the Town Panchayat Municipality within Municipal Corporations under the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 (collectively referred to as Local Authorities). The relevant statutory provisions for determining the strength of these bodies are found in Sec. 6 of both Acts. The central question is whether the Government has the authority to issue a notification under Sec. 6(1) of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and Sec. 6(1) of the Kerala Municipality Act to increase the strength of the local authority without a fresh census to determine the population of the local authority's territorial area, as required under Sec. 6(2) of the respective statutes. Some of the cases also challenge the amendment of the statutory provision that increased the strength of the local authority.

(2.) A learned Single Judge in a series of writ petitions held the view that the determination of strength for the formation of a Municipality or Panchayat can only be ascertained based on the most current census data reflecting the population.

(3.) The issue arose following an amendment in 2024 that increased the strength of the local authority. The argument was that the Government cannot simply notify an increase in strength based on a change in statutory provisions without following the prescribed legal procedure, which includes altering the notification according to each census. Additionally, the amendment to the statutory provisions increasing the strength is also being challenged. The challenge was made before this Court by residents of the Grama Panchayat, Municipality etc.