JITENDRA YADAV Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners are residents of Jabalpur Cantonment area and have filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a declaration that public notice dated 11th December, 2008 issued by the President, Cantonment Board, Jabalpur, notifying the date of polling for Jabalpur Cantonment Board election as 18th January, 2009 is illegal and further praying for a direction to the respondents to issue fresh election notice as per law.

(2.) THE relevant facts very briefly are that by notification dated 10th September, 2008 issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, under sub-section (1) of section 15 of the Cantonments act, 2006 (for short 'the Act'), 9th November 2008 was fixed as the date on which the elections to the Cantonment Boards of jabalpur, Saugor and Mhow shall be held. Thereafter, the Government of India, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, issued another notification dated 3rd October, 2008 under sub-section (1) of section 15 of the Act read with Rule 20 of the Cantonment Electoral rules, 2007, (for short 'the Rules') fixing 14th December, 2008 to be the date on which elections to the Cantonment Boards of Jabalpur, Mhow and Saugor shall be held. It was stated in the notification that the Assembly elections for the Madhya Pradesh state was expected to be held very shortly and the elections had to be postponed to avoid administrative problems which would arise in view of the proximity of the Assembly elections. But the Government of India, ministry of Defence, again issued a notification dated 17th November, 2008 under sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Act read with Rule 20 of the Rules, fixing the date of elections of the Cantonment Boards jabalpur, Mhow and Saugor as 18th January, 2009 instead of 14th December, 2008. The President, Cantonment Board, Jabalpur accordingly issued a public notice dated 11th December, 2008 notifying the date, time and places of polling, number of persons to be elected and details of wards reserved for Scheduled Castes or Scheduled tribes or women, the time and place for receipt of nominations, the time and place for scrutiny of nominations, the symbols that may be chosen by candidates and the restrictions to which their choice shall be subject and the detailed election programme. Aggrieved, the petitioners have filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

(3.) MR. Umesh Tripathi, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, submitted that under the proviso to Rule 20 of the Rules, the Central Government could postpone the date of elections to a Cantonment Board to a later date by not more than forty days. He submitted that by the first notification dated 10th September, 2008 issued under subsection (1) of Section 15 of the Act, the date of elections to the Cantonment Boards was fixed as 9th November, 2008 and forty days from 9th November, 2008 expired around 20th December, 2008 and therefore, the central Government has exceeded the time limit of forty days prescribed in the proviso to Rule 20 of the Rules by fixing the date of elections to the Jabalpur Cantonment Board as 18th January 2009 and for this reason, the impugned public notice fixing the date of elections as 18th January 2009 is illegal and is liable to be quashed.