RAMJILAL GUPTA Vs. STATE OF M.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition is directed against the order of the State Government under section 332 of the Municipalities Act, reviewing its' earlier order in the matter of disqualification of the respondent No.2.

(2.) THE facts giving rise to this petition are these: Elections of the Councilors of the Municipal Council Joura were held in the year 1974. The petitioner was declared duly elected Councilor from ward No.3 and the result duly notified and published. The respondent No.2 Shantilal Agarwal was a practising lawyer of Joura. He was also declared elected. The respondent No.2 was then elected as the President of the Council for a term of two years. It appears that the respondent No.2 had appeared in a series of cases defending accused persons who were prosecuted under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act. 1954 and the rules made thereunder. The criminal cases were initiated at the instance of Food Inspectors for the offences committed within the limits of the Municipal Council Joura. A list of such cases is appended to the petition with the dates on which the respondent No.2 appeared in those cases.

(3.) THE respondent No.2 thereafter remained silent for 8 months and on 2 -8 -1977 applied to the State Government for review of the order passed on 2 -11 -1976. The application for review was admitted by the State Government and on the same day a stay order was passed suspending the operation of the order passed by it earlier i.e. on 2 -11 -1976. One Bhagwanlal Gupta challenged the order of stay thus passed by the State Government by a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution before the Gwalior Bench of this High Court. This was Misc. Petition No.87 of 1977. The High Court on 1 -9 -1977 passed the following order on a concession made by the parties to the petition. The two relevant paragraphs of the High Court order are reproduced as below: -