RAJENDRA PRASAD PUSHPKAR Vs. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE VARANASI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Municipal Board Gopiganj is established and constituted under the U.P. Municipalities Act, 1916 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"). After the Members and the president of the Board were elected the State Government by its Notification dated 21-11-1988 issued under Section 56 of the Act, declared that the Board has been constituted. On 29-11-1988 the Chairman of the Board took oath of the office and on 16-2-1989 the Members of the Board were administered oath of their office. 28-2-1989 was fixed for holding election for Senior and Junior Vice-President. On the date so fixed, Respondents No. 3 and 4, namely. Azad Akhar Siddiqui and Vinod Kumar Yadav were elected as Senior and Junior Vice President respectively. Petitioner No. 1 who is an elector and Petitioner No. 2 who is the Member of the Board, by means of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India have challenged the election of Respondents No. 3 and 4 as Senior and Junior Vice-President, being illegal and void-

(2.) The argument of the learned Counsel for the Petitioner is that the election of Senior and Junior Vice-President under Sub-Section (I) of Section 54 of the Act has to be held within three months from the date of the constitution of the Board, and since the elections of Respondent No 3 and 4 as Senior and Junior Vice-President of the Board under Section 54(1) of the Act were held after expiry of three months from the date of constitution of the Board, their election is illegal. In substance, the argument is that in case the election of Senior and Junior Vice-President of the Board is held after three months of the date of constitution of the Board, it can only be held under the provisions of Section 54-A of the Act.

(3.) A Full Beach of that Court in Kalyan Dutt Kaushik v. District Magistrate, Hardwar,1991 2 UPLBEC 911, has held that in case election of Senior Vice-President and Junior Vice-President is not held within three months of the date oL constitution of the Board, it can be held in accordance with the procedure laid down under Section 54-A of the Act; Admittedly, in the present case, the Senior and Junior Vice-Presidents were elected after three months of the date of constitution of the Board under Section 54(1) of the Act and, therefore, the said election is contrary to law.