SOJHARMAL Vs. MUN. COUNCIL, KHARSIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) . By this application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, the petitioner Sojharmal who was the Vice -President of the Municipal Council, Kharsia, Raigarh District, seeks a writ of certiorari for quashing a resolution of no -confidence which was passed against him at a meeting of the Municipal Council held on 5th November 1963.

(2.) BEFORE the commencement of the meeting, the petitioner made a proposal to the President that voting on the no -confidence motion should be 'free" and not by ballot. One Councillor, Mahavirprasad, moved a counterproposal. Ultimately, the President decided that voting on the motion would be by ballot. It is not disputed by the opponents that voting on the resolution was by ballot. As a result of the count it was found that twelve Councillors voted for the motion of no confidence against the petitioner and five against it. The Council consists of eighteen members and seventeen of them were present at the meeting at which the motion of no -confidence was moved. Under section 47 (1) of the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1961, (hereinafter referred to as the Act), if a motion of no -confidence is carried by a majority of two -thirds of the Councillors present and voting and if such majority is more than half of the total number of the Councillors constituting the Council for the time being, then the office of the President or the Vice -President, as the case may be, is deemed to have become vacant forthwith. The motion of no -confidence against the petitioner was carried with the majority mentioned in section 47 (1). The result of the passing 'of that motion was that the office of Vice -President of the Council which the petitioner held, became vacant forthwith.

(3.) IN the return, it has been admitted that voting on the motion of no confidence was by ballot and in that method it was not possible for anyone to know as to who voted for the motion or against it. It is, however, averred that this method was adopted in order to prevent undue influence being brought on the Councillors in the matter of voting and that the bye -laws framed by the Council permitted voting for any motion by the method of ballot.