BABULAL JAIN Vs. STATE OF M. P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE four petitioners, who are Councillors of the Kolaras Municipal Council, have filed this application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution for the issue of a writ of certiorari for quashing an order of the State Government made on 22nd January 1966 holding that the motion of 'no -confidence' moved against the respondent No.2, Chintamani Jain, the President of the Council, was not validly passed, and for a direction restraining the said respondent from functioning as President of the Council.

(2.) THE Kolaras Municipal Council was constituted in 1959, under the Madhya Bharat Municipalities Act, 1954. The respondent No.2, Chintamani Jain, and the petitioner No.1, Babulal Jain, were then elected as President and Vice -President of the Council. They were holding these offices when the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1961, (hereinafter referred to as the Act), came into force. By virtue of section 2 (2) (ii) of the Act, the Municipal Council, the members of the Council, and the President and Vice -President thereof continued to function till the expiry of their term under the M. B. Municipalities Act, 1954, which was repealed by the Act of 1961, for sometime thereafter. On 18th March 1963 fresh elections to the Municipal Council were held under the provisions of the Act of 1961, and after this election the non -applicant No. 2, Chintamani Jain, was again elected as President. The Council consists of six members. On 9th January 1965 three of the Councillors sent a notice of a motion of no -confidence against the President, Chintamani Jain, and sent a requisition to the Chief Municipal Officer to convene a meeting of the Council for discussing the motion. The Chief Municipal Officer, acting under section 47 (2) of the Act, issued a notice of the meeting to the Councillors intimating them that the meeting for discussion of the no -confidence motion would be held on 27th January 1965. The meeting was held on that date at the appointed hour and was attended by all the six Councillors. At this meeting, the motion of no -confidence against the President was passed by a majority of two -thirds of the Councillors present and voting. Four of the Councillors voted in favour of the motion and two against it.

(3.) THE view expressed by the State in the order allowing the respondent No. 2's revision petition has been reiterated in the return filed on behalf of the State. It has also been added therein that the election of Chintamani Jain as President in 1963 should have been held under the Madhya Bharat Municipalities Act, 1954, and not under the Act of 1961, and consequently his election as President under the Act of 1961 was a nullity.