M M LAWRANCE Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The validity of the Ordinance 27 of 1978 published in the Gazette dated 15th November, 1978 (copy Ext. P4) has been challenged in this writ petition. It is to be deemed to have come into force on the first day of November, 1978. S.2 of the Ordinance states:

(2.) The result and the purpose of the above Ordinance, in short, has been, the postponement of the election of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor and the Standing Committees which had been extended from time to time, and finally fixed by Ext. P2 notice dated 6th November, 1978 to be held on 16th November, 1978 at 2 P.M. S.4 of the Kerala Municipal Corporations Act, 1961 enumerates the authorities charged with carrying out the provisions of the Act. These are (a) a council, (b) standing committees of the council and (c) a commissioner. S.5 provides for the Constitution of the council; S.6, of the Standing Committees; S 18 provides that each standing committee shall consist of five members elected by the council from among its own members. Under clause (2) of the said section, a councillor elected to be a member of a standing committee shall hold office for one year unless he sooner resigns the same, or his term of office as councillor is in any manner determined earlier. Sub clause (4) of the said section was added by the Amendment in 1972 to the effect that when a notification extending the term of office of councillors, is issued under the proviso to sub-s. (1) of S.67, the Government may by notification in the Gazette, extend the term of office of councillors so extended. S.28 provides: "28. Election of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Chairman: (1) The council shall at its first meeting after the ordinary elections and at the first meeting in the corresponding month in each succeeding year elect

(3.) The Ordinance is attacked as destructive of the basic democratic spirit and concept underlying the Constitution; and also as meant to postpone the conduct of the elections to the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and to keep in office these functionaries beyond the span of their elected term of office. We are afraid that this argument does not cut much ice. These are matters essentially of policy and decision by the Government. So long as competence to promulgate the Ordinance can be found, and no invalidating features are present, this court cannot concern itself with the objectives or the polices of the Government or cavil at them.