JAGROOP SINGH GILL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in this writ petition have challenged the Notification dated 9-5-1994 issued by the Government of Punjab, Department of Local Government, Chandigarh, superseding the Municipal Committee (now Municipal Council), Bhatinda, for a period of one year.

(2.) The relevant facts giving rise to the present petition are that petitioner No. 1 is the President, petitioner No. 2 is the Vice-President and petitioners No. 3 to 15 are the Municipal Commissioners of Municipal Committee, Bhatinda, were held on 6/09/1992. There are 29 members in the Municipal Committee. The petitioners' basic grievance is that there are groups in the Municipal Committee, and the group led by Shri Atma Singh, who has the blessing of the local M.L.A. from that area and who is the Minister in the present Ministery in the State, have persuaded the Government, without any basis and for mala fide reasons, to issue the Notification in question superseding the Municipal Committee. The further allegation in the petition is that the group led by Shri Atma Singh which was in minority could not break the majority of the group of the petitioners, and has, therefore, adopted this unfair via media to achieve their object, which they have done issuing the Notification dated 9/05/1994, Annexure P/1 to the petition.

(3.) Various grounds of attack have been raised in the petition, but the counsel for the petitioners has mainly stressed the ground of violation of principles of natural justice and non-compliance of the provisions of Section 238 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act').