STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. SAVITABEN MADHUKAR MAKIWANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant-Government has questioned validity of the judgment delivered in Special Civil Application No. 1565 of 1997 dated 25th July 1997 [Reported in 1998 (1) GLR 321] whereby the learned single Judge has quashed and set aside order dated 12th February 1997 passed by appellant No. 1-Government under provisions of S.263(1) of the Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') whereby Kalol Municipality was superseded by the appellant- Government. Parties in the appeal have been described as arrayed in the petition for the sake of convenience.

(2.) Kalol Municipality, respondent No. 3 in the petition, was superseded by respondent No. 1-Government, by an order dated 12th February 1997 and, therefore, the petitioners, some of the Councillors of Kalol Municipality, had challenged the order of supersession. The petitioners had mainly submitted before the learned single Judge in Special Civil Application No. 1565 of 1997 that the impugned order of supersession was unjust, illegal and was passed without any application of mind. The said order was also alleged to be violative of principles of natural . It was submitted by the petitioners that even if some illegalities were committed, the same were committed by the office-bearers of the Municipality and not by the Municipal Councillors. It was, therefore, submitted that the Municipality could not have been superseded under provisions of S.263(1) of the Act.

(3.) After hearing the concerned Advocates and looking to the facts of the case, the learned single Judge was pleased to allow the petition by setting aside order dated 12-2-1997 on the ground that the impugned order superseding the Municipality was violative of principles of natural and it suffered from the vice of nonapplication of mind.