P GANNAVARAM MANDAL OF E G DISTRICT, SIDDIREDDI SA Vs. STATE ELECTION COMMISSIONER, BUDHA BHAVAN, SECUNDE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This matter came up for admission on 4/7/2006, Learned counsel representing the parties requested time, to get instructions and this Court directed the matter tp appear in the list on 7/7/2006. On 7/7/2006 this Court issued Rule Nisi and directed W. P. M. P. to appear in the Motion List on 10/7/2006. From 10/7/2006, the matter is adjourned to this day,

(2.) The relief prayed for in the writ petition is for issuance of writ or order or direction more in the nature of writ of mandamus declaring the action of the respondents in reserving yerramshettivaripalem village of East Godavari district for SC (women) as illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 243-K of the Constitution of India and also violative of Sec. 15 of the a. P. Panehayat Raj Act, 1994, and also prayed for consequential direction to the respondents to de-reserve Yerramshettivaripalem gram Panehayat of P. Gannavaram Mandal of East Godavari district from SC (Women) and pass such other suitable orders,

(3.) The writ petitioners placed reliance on the representation made to the State Election Commission dated 25. 06. 2006 and also acknowledgment in relation thereto. It is stated in the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition that Yerramshettivaripalem (in short hereinafter referred to as 'y. V. Palem' for the purpose of convenience) is reserved for SC (Women) out of 20 Gram panchayats that fall under P, Ganavaram Mandal of East Godavari district. The petitioners also state that when they came to know about the same, they met the Mandal Revenue Officer and also the revenue Divisional Officer of Amalapuram and appraised them that Y. V. Palem was earlier under the Udinudi Gram Panchayat and deleted and constituted as a separate Gram Panchayat before 1970 itself. It is also stated that Y. V. Palem is not having a single household belonging to the SC community and had also drawn the attention of the authorities concerned by placing before them the voters list of Y. V. Palem for the years 1993, 1999 and 2006 to show that not even a single household/individual is residing or registered as a voter and as such reserving Y. V. Palem for the SC (Women) was in negation of the spirit of the Constitution of India and also the provisions of the A. P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (hereinafter in short referred to 'the Act'). It is further stated that section 15 of the Act contemplates a notice to the concerned Gram panchayat before a decision is taken to reserve it for any community and in the instant case, no notice is issued to the gram Panchayat nor any opinion is taken nor any enquiry is made nor the authorities concerned bother to look into census nor even care to look into the voters list preceding three terms. Several other factual details had been also narrated and the main ground of attack is that as there is not even a single household/individual belonging to SC population, the question of taking SC population into consideration would not arise and hence, the reservation is bad. Certain news items also had been relied upon.