MEHSANA MUNICIPALITY Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a municipality constituted under the appropriate provisions of the Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963. The petitioner challenges the constitutional validity of the provisions of Sec. 41(2) of the Bombay Primary Education Act, 1947. The petitioner also challenges the legality and validity of the following orders :

(2.) The petitioner is a municipality enjoined with duty to establish and maintain primary schools as provided under Sec. 87B of the Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963 (for short 'Municipalities Act'). The municipalities which do not perform the statutory obligation to establish and maintain primary schools are required to make contribution every year to the District School Board or to the authorised municipality, as the case may be, for the purposes of primary education. The contribution would be in such proportion of the rateable value of the property in the area as may from time to time be fixed in this behalf by the State Government. Over and above this amount, the income accruing from any funds (including trust funds) held, and all moneys received by the municipality for the said purposes, i.e., for the purposes of primary education, are required to be contributed in this fund. Since the coming into force of the 'Municipalities Act', the petitioner-municipality did not pay the requisite amount of contribution towards primary education fund as provided under Sec. 41(2) of the Bombay Primary Education Act, 1947 (for short "Primary Education Act").

(3.) Details of the amounts which fell due and remained payable by the petitionermunicipality are disclosed in the letter dated August 20, 1979 written by the District Primary Education Officer to the District Education Committee, Mehsana. A copy of this letter is produced at Annexure-F to the petition. The particulars of the amount due as mentioned in the letter are as under :