TIRUMALCHETTY KOTAIAH Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR PANCHAYAT WING GUNTUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This batch of seventeen writ petitions relating to amalgamation of Gram Panchayats situate in the districts of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari Krishna, Guntur, Nellore, Chittoor, Cuddapah and Nizamabad, raise a common question as to the validity of the notification dated 23rd August, 1965, issued by the respective Collectors in pursuance of which fresh elections are sought to be held. Several Gram Panchayats in the above districts were divided into two or three, as the case may be, and constituted as separate panchayats after due consideration of the various factors and in accordance with the unanimous resolutions of the original Gram Panchayats. Sometime after ihe bifurcation and the new Panchayats have come into existence, the Government revised their policy and desired to maintain the status quo by amalgamating or merging the newly formed Panchayats. For this purpose, notifications were issued on 16th March, 1964, by the various Collectors cancelling the previous bifurcation of Panchayats and merging the newly formed Panchayats once again to form the old Gram Panchayats. The said merger notification dated 17th March, 1964, was published without adopting the procedure prescribed in the Andhra Pradesh Gram Panchayats Act, 1964, (hereinafter referred to as the Aet), namely, of giving an opportunity to the concerned panchayats to show cause why they should not be amalgamated to reform the original panchayats. Hence,weeling aggrieved by the said notifications, a batch of 98 writ petitions (W.P. Nos.468 and others of 1964) were filed in this Court which were heard and disposed on 15th February, 1965, by a common judgment by Basi Reddy and Gopal Rao Ekbote, JJ. Therein it was held that the concerned Gram Panchayats have not been given an opportunity to show cause agaiast the merger and hence the learned Judges cancelled the notification observing that it is open to the Collectors exercising their powers as Commissioners under the Act to take such action as they deem fit in accordance with law. It was further held in the above batch of writ petitions that the various elections held after the cancellation of the bifurcation notification were consequently invalid. The effect of the above judgment was considered by the authorities and proceedings dated 27th July, 1965, were issued from the officers of the Collectors (Panchayat Wing) as follows :-

(2.) In pursuance of the above proceedings, the Special Officers took charge from the Presidents of certain Panchayats in some of the present writ petitions. On 9th August, 1965, notices were issued from the Collector's office (Panchayat Wing) addressed to the Special Officers of the Gram Panchayats to show cause within ten days why the previous notification for bifurcation should not be cancelled with retrospective effiCtfrom the date of the bifurcation. Thereafter, notification which is impugned in the present writ petitions is published. It is issued in a standard form by all the Collectors and it reads as follows :-

(3.) As a result of the aforesaid notification cancelling the bifurcation notification, the concerned authorities proceeded to take steps in the various Gram Panchayats for the holding of fresh elections. At this stage, the above writ petitions have been filed in this Court challenging the above said notification and seeking stay of all proceedings for holding elections; The main points raised by Sri Eabulu Reddy and Sri P. A. Chowdary, the learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners in some of these writ petitions are as follows: