MILAN CHOWDHURY Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ application, the petitioner, a Councillor of Raiganj Municipality elected from Ward No.18, has, inter alia, challenged a Notification No.571/MA/O/C -4/1M -5/2004 Pt. II Dated, Kolkata, the 4th day of November, 2010, issued by the Government of West Bengal in exercise of power under Section 7 of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993, classifying the Raiganj Municipality area as a Group 'C' area on the basis of the last preceding census; a Notification No.572/MA/O/C -4/1M -5/2004 Pt. II Dated, Kolkata, the 4th day of November, 2010, issued by the Government of West Bengal in exercise of powers under Section 8 of the said 1993 Act, determining the number of wards in the Raiganj Municipal area at 25; and a Notification No.4893 -SEC/1D -122/2010 dated Kolkata the 31st March, 2011, issued by the West Bengal State Election Commission under Section 3 of the West Bengal Municipal Election Act, 1994, and in supersession of all previous notifications in this regard, dividing the Raiganj Municipal area into 25 wards as described in the Table appended to the said notification. By the impugned notification, the number of wards in the Raiganj Municipal area have been delimited to 25 from 26. According to the petitioner wards are created and/or delimited on the basis of population. In the petition there is a table of the population in the respective wards as per the census report of 2001. The petitioner has also given a table of the population in the different wards as per the draft census report of 2011.

(2.) MR . Bhattacharya, submitted that the decision for delimitation of wards in Raiganj from 26 to 25 was, taken without compliance with the statutory provisions of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993.

(3.) REFERRING to Section 8 of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993, Mr. Bhattacharya submitted that the Government might, by notification determine the number of wards in any municipal area, having regard to population, dwelling pattern, geographical condition and economic conditions of the area. The proviso to the said section provides that the number of wards in any municipal area would not be less than 9 and would not exceed, in the case of a municipal area included in Group A, 35, in the case of municipal area included in Group B, 30, in the case of municipal area included in Group C, 25, in the case of a municipal area included in Group D, 20, and in the case of a municipal area included in Group E, 15. The second proviso provides that the State Government might by notification determine the number of wards in the municipal area of a municipality in such phases as the Government might deem fit. Mr. Bhattacharya submitted that before delimitation of the number of wards under Raiganj Municipality, the population including Scheduled Caste population in the respective wards was not taken into consideration.