ANANDA NANU CHOUDHARI Vs. SURGANA VILLAGE PANCHAYAT NASIK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner challenges the very Constitution of the village panchayat of village Surgana, District Nasik, contending that (a) it is not a validly constituted panchayat under the provisions of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and (b) respondent Nos. 7 to 12 who are its nominated members are not entitled to take part in the affairs of the said panchayat.

(2.) Facts giving rise to this petition are as follows :---

(3.) The petitioner is a resident of the aforesaid village Surgana. The said village has a panchayat divided into four wards. Elections to this panchayat were held in May 1978. Ward No. 1 had two seats and Ward Nos. 2, 3 and 4 had three seats each-thus in all eleven seats. From ward No. 1 respondent No. 2 was elected, from Ward No. 2 respondent Nos. 4 and 5 were elected, from Ward No. 3 respondent No. 3 was elected and from Ward No. 4 respondent No. 6 was elected. Thus, though there were eleven seats, only five persons were declared elected, reason being that though there were nominations of other candidates (including the petitioner herein), their nominations were rejected as being invalid leaving in the contesting field only the aforesaid five persons. As the total of the elected persons viz., five, fell short of the total number of seats viz., eleven, the Standing Committee acting under sub-section (3) of section 10 of the Act, nominated, sometime in November 1978, respondent Nos. 7 to 12 as members of the panchayat. Soon thereafter the present petition was filed for reliefs indicated hereinabove.