BALKRISHNA GAYAKE Vs. STATE OF M.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners allege that out of 16 Municipal Corporations, to hold elections in 4 or 5 Corporations alone is discriminatory and politically motivated.

(2.) THEY also contend that the division of Municipal area into wards and delimitation of the wards is arbitrary and without application of mind, and the preparation of electoral rolls is also not in accordance with law. So far as holding elections in a few Corporations alone and not holding elections to all the 16 Municipal Corporations, no provision of law has been pointed out to us which requires holding of elections to all the Municipal Corporations simultaneously. In the very nature of things since the different Corporations are distinct and individual corporate bodies, there is no reason why elections to them cannot be held at different times. There is therefore, no force in the contention that holding elections to a few Corporations is discriminatory or illegal.

(3.) THAT leaves us with the main challenge of the petitioners which is to the formation of wards and their delimitation. It was emphatically argued that several areas in the cities of Indore and Ujjain have been left out of the process of delimitation with the result that there are areas in the cities which do not fall in any of the wards. It was also contended that some area outside the Corporation limits has also been included in the wards. When we enquired at the time of hearing as to which were these areas, the learned counsel took us through the notifications published in the Gazettee showing the division of wards and their delimitation. A perusal of these notifications for the respective Corporations would show that column No. (1) thereof shows the number of the wards and whether it is reserved or unreserved. Column No. (2) enumerates the localities by their name and column No. (3) is the description of the boundaries of the ward ·. The petitioners in their effort to demonstrate that certain areas were left out, concentrated on column No. (3) relating to description of boundaries alone.