SATYABHAMA PADHI Vs. COLLECTOR CUM DISTRICT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is the Vice -Chairperson of Koraput Notified Area Council constituted under Section 8 of the Orissa Municipal Act, 1950. In this writ application she seeks to assail the validity of the notice dated 25.8.1999 at Annexure -2 issued by the Officer - on -Special Duty (L.R.), Koraput to the concerned Councillors requiring them to attend the meeting on 30.8.1999 in the Meeting1 Hall of the Notified Area Council, Koraput, for consideration of the no confidence motion against her (petitioner).

(2.) REFERRING to Section 54 of the Orissa Municipal Act, 1950 (for short, 'the Act'), particularly Sub -section (2)(c) thereof, Shri Ray, learned counsel for the petitioner, contended that such notice can only be issued by the District Magistrate and not by the Officer -on -Special Duty (L.R.). In this connection, he placed reliance on judgment of Karnataka High Court in Basappa Ningappa Arab v. The Assistant Commissioner, Bagalkot Sub -Division (AIR 1976 Karnataka 224) and of the Bombay High Court in Kisan Baban Rout v. Collector, Akola and Ors. (1976) Mh.L.J. 747).

(3.) SECTION 54 of the Act deals with the topic 'vote of no confidence against the Chairperson or Vice -Chairperson'. Sub -section (1) of Section 54 provides that in a meeting of the Municipal Council specially convened by the District Magistrate if a resolution is passed supported by not less than two -thirds of the total number of Councillors recording want of confidence in the Chairperson or Vice -Chairperson, the resolution together with the records of the proceedings would be forwarded to the State Government which would publish the same in the gazette. In this case, we are concerned with Sub -section (2) of Section 54. It is, therefore, appropriate to extract the relevant portion of the said provision to extract the relevant portion of the said provision which reads as follows :