YELAMARTI YESOBU Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner seeks the issuance of a writ quo warranto directing the respondents 4 to 12 to show under what authority they are holding their office as members of the Panchayat of Chavali, Tenali Taluk, Guntur District.

(2.) Chavali, was a second class panchayat up to the end of 1956. In or about February 1956, a notification was issued by the Government converting this in to a first class panchayat. Consequent upon this conversion, elections could not be held in September, 1956, as several formalities had to be observed before elections could be held. Consequently, they were postponed till 4-12-1957 then elections were conducted to the reconstituted panchayat. The petitioner was one of the elected members. Later on, in September 1959, the Inspector of Local Boards directed that ordinary elections to the panchayat also should be held in September 1959 in order to bring into line with the elections that were ting held for the other panchayats in the District. In view of this notification, the elections took place on 29-9-1959 at which respondents 4 to 12 were elected as members of that panchayat. It is questioning the right of these respondents to hold office for the period for which they were elected that this petition was filed.

(3.) The contention raised by Sri Kuppuswami, learned counsel for the petitioner, in support of this petition is that the elections held on 4-12-1957 would last till 4-12-1960 and the next election could be conducted only after the expiry of the term of the member elected in 1957 and that any election held before the expiry of the period of three years should be invalidated and the petitioner deemed to be in office till 4-12-1960. This argument of Sri Kuppuswami is founded on section 122 of the Madras Village Panchayats Act, 1950. That section, in so far as it is of immediate relevancy, is as follows :