JAGJIT SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this petition, a challenge has been made to the constitutionality of sub-clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 99 of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 inserted by the Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2000, with respect to elections to the Panchayat Samitis.

(2.) AS this issue raised is purely legal, the bare facts out of which this matter arises require to be noticed.

(3.) THIS Ordinance was replaced by the Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2000 (hereinafter called the "Amendment Act"), copy appended as Annexure P-3. Sub-clauses (a) and (b) of Section 99(1) introduced by the amendment have been challenged by the petitioners on the plea that its provisions were violative of the mandate of Article 243(c)(2) of the Constitution of India, which visualised that all seats in a Panchayat, which would include a Panchayat Samiti, were to be filled by persons chosen by direct election though sub- Article (3) thereof did provide for the election of a small number of members by direct election. It has been pleaded in the writ petition that by reducing the ratio of the directly elected members to 30 while retaining 70 for the representatives of the Sarpanches indirectly elected, the provisions of Article 243(C) had been circumvented and as this was a colourable exercise of power, the aforesaid provisions were liable to be struck down on that basis.