PRASAD Vs. STATE OF M.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for declaring the whole of the general election for the Sabalgarh Municipality illegal and ultra vires and for restraining non -Petitioners Nos. 2 to 9 from acting as elected Councillors of the said Municipality.

(2.) IN the month of May, 1959 a general election was held for the Sabalgarh Municipality which is a second class Municipality constituted under the Madhya Bharat Municipalities Act (No. 1 of 1954). Non -Petitioners Nos. 2 to 9 were declared elected. The election is challenged by the Petitioner, who is a tax -payer and voter in the municipality, on several grounds. In short, his contention is that the election was held in contravention of Section 11 of the said Act and that the Rules under which the election was held had been framed in utter disregard of the provisions contained in that section of the Act.

(3.) THE first objection of the Petitioner is that the Government had not determined the number of councillors for the municipality as required under Section 11 (a) of the Act. Without that being done, the Inspector General, Municipalities had no power to issue a notification under Rule 23 (1) and Rule 23 (2) of the said Rules.