DHIRUBHAI PREMABHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution, the petitioners have challenged the Notification dated 20-7-2006 issued under clause (2) of Art. 243Q of the Constitution specifying the entire areas of 27 gram panchayats in Surat District to be a larger urban area and including such larger urban area within the limits of the city of Surat and specifying that such area shall form part of the city of Surat. In the alternative, the petitioners have also prayed for a writ to direct the respondent-State to issue notification under clause (2) of Art. 243Q of the Constitution read with Sec. 5 of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949 to include the remaining village panchayat area in the concerned talukas making it retroactively effective from 20-7-2006. The petitioners have also prayed for a declaration that respondent Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7 have ceased to be members of the Surat District Panchayat on and from 20-7-2006 and respondent No. 5 has also ceased to be Chairman of the Surat District Education Committee on and from 20-7-2006. The petitioners have also prayed for a writ to quash and set aside the result of the election of President of the Surat District Panchayat held on 22-1-2008. Three other reliefs are also prayed for which will be referred to hereinafter.

(2.) The facts leading to filing of this petition, briefly stated, are as under : 2.1 Elections to the Surat District Panchayat were last held in October, 2005 and the five year term of the panchayat would come to an end on 8-11-2010. On 29-10-2005, the notification containing the names of elected members of the Surat District Panchayat was issued. As per the said notification, the Surat District Panchayat had 45 members with the following break up with reference to the number of members elected from each taluka : <FRM>JUDGEMENT_125_GLR1_2010Html1.htm</FRM> 2.2. After the aforesaid elections, by Notification dated 20-7-2006 issued under clause (2) of Art. 243Q of the Constitution, the State Government specified areas of 27 Gram Panchayats to be larger urban areas and included them within the limits of the city of Surat. These areas accordingly form part of the metropolitan city of Surat governed by the Bombay Municipal Corporations Act, 1949. Section 264 of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993 provides that when the limits of a District/Taluka Panchayat are, during the term of office of the members of the District/Taluka Panchayat, altered so as exclude any area therefrom, the State Government may by order provide for, inter alia, the interim reduction in the number of members of the District/Taluka Panchayat concerned and the termination of office of the elected members of the District/Taluka Panchayat, who are elected as such members from the areas so excluded. In view of this statutory provision, the Development Commissioner of the State Government called for details of the areas excluded from the concerned talukas and also from the Surat District and also the details of the members of the Surat District Panchayat who lost their membership. According to the petitioners, this information was supplied to the Development Commissioner on 23-7-2006 as per statement produced with the petition at C-81 to C-84. 2.3. Thereafter, the State Government by Notification dated 27-9-2007 bifurcated Surat, district into two districts : (i) Surat with headquarters at Surat, and (ii) Tapi with headquarters at Vyara. This resulted into exclusion of four talukas from the territorial limits of the Surat District Panchayat. Now, Surat District has 10 talukas and Tapi consists of 5 talukas. This also entailed issuance of notification under Sec. 264 of the Panchayats Act making interim reduction of 14 members of the Surat District Panchayat, so that the number of members of the Surat District Panchayat was reduced from 45 to 31.

(3.) Petitioner No. 3 herein filed Special Civil Application No. 25 of 2008 making a grievance against inaction on the part of the State Government in not issuing notification under Sec. 264(1)(ii) for an interim reduction in the number of members of the Surat District Panchayat on account of exclusion of 27 Gram Panchayats from the territorial limits of the Surat District Panchayat upon their inclusion within the limits of the city of Surat. The petitioner prayed for such a notification. The learned Single Judge dismissed the said petition by order dated 11-7-2008. In Letters Patent Appeal No. 1253 of 2008 against the said order, this Court recorded the statement of the learned Advocate General that the State Government will issue the consequential notification under Sec. 264(1) of the Panchayats Act. The appeal was disposed of on 29-12-2008 after recording the above statement.