MAHENDRA PAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioner, who claims to be one of the members of the Town Area Committee, Hasayan, Aligarh, has filed this writ petition for a writ of mandamus commanding the District Magistrate, Aligarh, to hold the meeting of the Town Area Committee for consideration of the motion of no -confidence against the chairman in accordance with Section 87 -A of the Municipalities Act. This Court on 26 -4 -1991 issued an interim mandamus directing the District Magistrate to take action for convening the meeting of the motion of no -confidence, as required under the U.P. Municipalities Act or to show -cause by filing a counter -affidavit within a month. The District Magistrate neither held the meeting of the Town Area Committee within the time fixed by Section 87 -A of the U.P. Municipalities Act nor has shown the cause, on the other hand, the meeting was held after the expiry of the prescribed time. The chairman of the Town Area Committee accordingly filed writ petition No. 15503 of 1991 Girish Chand Sharma v. District Magistrate, challenging the order of the District Magistrate, fixing the meeting of the Town Area Committee after expiry of the time specified by Section 87 -A of the U.P. Municipalities Act. We have allowed this writ petition by our judgment dated November 12, 1991 and quashed the order of the District Magistrate fixing the meeting of the Town Area Committee and the resolution passed in that meeting. As the motion moved by the Petitioner has lapsed no meeting can be held by the District Magistrate and this writ petition as such has become infructuous and is dismissed accordingly.

(2.) AS the provisions of Section 87 -A(3) of the U. P Municipalities Act, so far as they relate to the fixing of the meeting on a date which shall not be earlier than thirty days and not later than thirty -five days from the date of presentation of the notice to the District Magistrate, have been held to be mandatory by a Full Bench of five Hon'ble Judges of this Court in the case of Gyan Singh v. District Magistrate : AIR 1975 All. 315, it was mandatory duty of the District Magistrate to fix the meeting of the Town Area Committee in accordance with the aforesaid provisions between thirty and thirty -five days from the date of presentation of the motion. The District Magistrate, however, has failed to perform this mandatory duty. As we are dismissing the writ petition as infructuous on account of failure on the part of the District Magistrate to perform the mandatory duty of fixing the meeting of the Town Area Committee within the specified time, mentioned above, we direct that the District Magistrate Aligarh shall pay special cost to the Petitioner, which we assess at Rupees one thousand, within two months from the date of presentation of the certified copy of this order before him. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed.