KHUSHI RAM Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Through this petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, election of the Panches of Gram Panchayat of village Dhikansu Kalan, Tehsil Rajpura, District Patiala, held on August 17, 1978 has been challenged.

(2.) The main ground of attack is that the Gram Panchayat constituted under the provisions of Section 6(1) of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 (hereinafter called the Act) was not validly constituted because as provided in sub-section (4-A), the Panchayat was required to have one scheduled caste member, the population of the scheduled castes in the village being more than 5 per cent; but in the notification, the number of scheduled castes Panches was shown to be nil. It has been further averred that as at the time of the election all the five Panches were elected from amongst the non-scheduled castes, the whole of the election was liable to be set aside.

(3.) The petition has been opposed both by the State as well as the five Panches who were declared elected to the said Gram Panchayat. In the written statement of the State, it has been admitted that under the provisions of the Act one of the members was to be elected from amongst the scheduled castes, their population being more than 5 per cent in the village. But it has been further stated that the original notification dated July 27, 1978 has since been amended by a corrigendum issued on August 23, 1978 and it has been provided that one of the Panches would be from amongst the scheduled caste members of the Sabha. In the written statement filed by the other respondents, the averment in the petition that in the village scheduled caste population is more than 5 per cent, has been denied. However, a reference to the Punjab District Census Hand Book No. 18, Patiala District published by the Punjab Government in 1966 would show that the population of the scheduled castes in the Sabha area is much more than 5 per cent. The notification constituting the Gram Panchayat, therefore, violated the provisions of Section 6 of the Act and no validly constituted Panchayat came into being by that notification. There being no validly constituted Panchayat according to the provisions of the Act, the election of its Panches would be void ab initio and has to be set aside as a whole. The issuance of the corrigendum cannot in these circumstances validate the election because in the absence of a validly constituted Panchayat no election to elect its Panches could be held.