SURENDRA PRASAD SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE issue in the present petition is the time bound promotion. The employees of the Patna Municipal Corporation seek parity with other State Government employees. At present, the time bound promotion as is being given to other State employees is not being received to the employees of the Corporation. If it is received, it would need further budgetary expenditure. The Corporation is a superseded Corporation. To give effect to the claim of the employees, draft rules were made and sent by the Corporation to the State Government. If approved, the necessary budgetary expenditure would have been provided and the employees would receive the time bound promotion, a claim, in principle, accepted by the Corporation.

(2.) UNFORTUNATELY , today a statement has been made on behalf of the State Government by Additional Advocate General, No.3, that the draft rules sent by the Corporation have not been accepted by the State Government but rejected. Let the information be filed on an affidavit by Monday, by the Secretary, Urban Development.

(3.) ONE aspect is not to be lost sight , of is that the Patna Municipal Corporation is a superseded Corporation and this state of affairs has continued as powers were exercised under Section 545, Chapter 34 of the Patna Municipal Corporation Act, 1951. The Court has reservations whether these provisions can stand in view of the amendment which has taken place to the Constitution of India by Part IX A, the Chapter on "Municipalities". The amendments were brought into the Constitution of India by the Constitution (73rd) Amendment Act, 1992. To supersede the Patna Municipal Corporation was an Act of the State Government. After the amendments were made to the Constitution of India, the sanction of the law to continue the affairs of the Patna Municipal Corporation without its elected representatives and to run it ad -infinitum as a superseded Corporation, as a Corporation -sole, is not available to the State of Bihar. There is no escape from this but to make arrangements for municipalities, city corporations and other local self governments institutions so that in chapter and spirit, effect is given to the provisions of the Constitution of India on local self governments for a functional grass root democracy.