CHANNALA RAMACHANDRA RAO Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Political Justice is a preambular promise of the Constitution of India. "We, the people of India" shall redeem the promise of 'political justice' is the underlying theme of the Constitution (Seventy-Fourth Amendment) Act, 1992. The apprehension of the petitioners in this batch of cases is that while attempting to achieve political justice, guaranteed right to "equal protection of laws" another preambular promise is ignored. A deeper curial look is called for. On the eve of elections to a century and odd urban local bodies-Nagar Panchayats, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations in the State of Andhra Pradesh, all questions raised and all issues involved in these cases are the same and hence are being disposed of by this common Judgment, at the stage of admission with the consent of the learned Counsel for the petitioners and the respondents.

(2.) Reservation of seats in Educational Institutions, reservation of civil posts and quasi-government posts and reservation of seats in legislative bodies, local bodies are matters of political expediency and executive policy mainly due to Directive Principles of State Policy and other mandatory provisions of the Constitution. When questions of rationality, legality and constitutionality are raised before the Courts, 'judicial process' becomes complex. All the same, principles of Administrative Law alone are applied for resolving the constitutional issues. But by the very nature of the socio-politico and economic nature of the debate, there are bound to be various divergent views. In this context, the observations of Hon'ble Sri Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy in Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India are apposite.

(3.) At the outset, be it noted that in these matters the constitutional validity, vires and scope of various provisions of the Constitution, various A.P. State Legislative enactments as well as statutory rules framed thereunder and legality of the policy of the Government in reserving the offices of Chairpersons, Mayors and Wards (seats) in Municipalities and Municipal Corporations in the State of Andhra Pradesh, arise for consideration. The various enactments to which a repeated reference is made in the course of the Judgment are, Hyderabad Municipal Corporations Act, 1955 (HMC Act, for brevity), A.P. Municipalities Act, 1965 (the Act, for brevity), The Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation Act, 1979 (Vizag Act, for brevity), the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Act, 1981 (the VMC Act, for brevity) and the A.P. Municipal Corporations Act, 1994 (Corporations Act, for brevity). The relevant rules are A.P, Municipalities (Reservation of Offices of Chairpersons in Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats) Rules, 1995 (Chairperson Rules, for brevity), The A.P. Municipalities (Reservation of Seats in Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats) Rules, 1995 (the Ward Rules for brevity), A.P. Municipal Corporations (Reservation of Offices of Mayors) Rules, 1995 (Mayor Rules for brevity), A.P. Municipal Corporations (Reservation of Seats) Rules, 1995 (Corporation Ward Rules for brevity). PLEADINGS: