BHUSHANLAL SAHU Vs. JAMUNADAS SUKHWANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An election petition was filed before the District Judge. Durg under Section 20 of the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1961 by the non- applicant No. 1, Jamunadas challenging the election of applicants Shyamlal and Dwarendra Verma and non-applicants 2 and 3. Rama Pandey and Bhulau Verma as members of the Standing Committee of Municipal Council. Bemetara. An objection was raised as to the maintainability of the election petition. By the impugned order, that objection has been overruled and the election petition has been held to be maintainable. In this revision, the question raised for consideration, therefore, is whether ah election petition under Section 20 of the Act is maintainable against the election of councillors as members of Standing Committee of the Municipal Council,

(2.) Chapter II of the Act deals with constitution of municipalities. Section 18 requires that there shall be constituted for each municipality a council having authority over the municipality. It shall be a body corporate by the name of the Council of its municipality. According to Section 19. each council is to consist of elected and selected councillors. Sub-section (2) of Section 19 permits the State Government to make rules regulating the mode or method of election of councillors, the mode or method of selection by single transferable vote and time of selection of councillors. Section 19 thus envisages two categories of councillors in a municipal council, i. e.. elected councillors and selected councillors. The elected members are to select a few councillors in accordance with Clause (b) of Sub-section (1) of that section. No third category of councillors is envisaged under the Act. The formation of a municipal council is complete when the elected councillors select a few more councillors as prescribed. However the business of the council is conducted and regulated in accordance with the provisions contained in Chapter III. For this purpose, Section 70 provides that every council shall have a committee called the Standing Committee which is to consist of such number of councillors not exceeding 9 and not less than 3 as the State Government may, by notification, specify in that behalf. According to Sub-section (2) of Section 70, every council is to elect members of a Standing Committee from among its members in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, Such members hold office as members of the Sending Committee for a period of two years. Apart from this, a council may also elect out of its own body certain executive committees. Section 20, which occurs in Chap. II, provides for an election petition. That section runs as follows:

(3.) An election petition before the District Judge seems to be the only mode provided under Section 20 of the Act for questioning any election or selection under the Act. Section 20 of the Act and its preceding Section 19, which as I have earlier shown. enacts that a municipal council shall consist of elected and selected councillors, appear under one Chapter, i. e., Chapter II of the Act. The sequence in which these two sections are placed and the fact that Section 20 making provisions for an election petition follows Section 19 is of vital significance in determining the scope of the words 'election or selection" appearing in Section 20. This setting of a particular section in an enactment and its division into parts or the headings do play a considerable role in explaining or limiting its operation. Chapter headings, unlike marginal notes, are admissible in the construction of a statute (See Bulmer v. I. R. C. (1967) Ch 145 and Fisher v. Raven (1964) AC-210). The law in this behalf is stated in Craies on Statute Law, Seventh Edition by S. G. G. Edgar at p. 210 in these words: