SIYA SHARAN SINHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to quash the Notification No. 10021/LSG, issued by the Government of Bihar on the 8th December, 1967, a copy of which is Annexure 'A' to the writ application, and to restrain the State of Bihar (Respondent No. 1) to forbear from enforcing Annexure 'A' and the other respondents from acting thereunder. Cause has been shown by the learned standing counsel on behalf of Respondents Nos. 1, 19 (the Sub -divisional Officer, Madhepura) and respondent No. 20, the Doctor Incharge of the Madhe -pura Dispensary and Mr. Brajeshwar Mallick on behalf of respondents Nos. 2 to 18, who are nominated as office -bearers and members of the Ad Hoc Committee appointed by the State Government of the Madhepura Municipality constituted under the impugned notification.

(2.) The locality known as the Town of Madhepura was formed a notified area and a Notified Area Committee was constituted by the State Government by Notification No. 3830/LSG dated the 21st March, 1960, under Section 388 of the Bihar and Orissa Municipal Act, 1922 (B. & O. Act VII of 1922). hereinafter called the Act. Ac -cording to the case of the petitioners,, out of whom petitioners 1 and 2 were the Members of the Notified Area Committee and petitioner No. 3 was a mere tax -payer, towards the end of September, 1967, a notice issued by the Local Self -Government Department of the Government of Bihar was received by the Notified Area Committee intimating the declaration of the intention of the State Government to convert the Notified Area Committee into a Municipality. The Committee objected in writing, inter alia, on the ground that the conditions imposed by Sec. 4 of the Act were not fulfilled and hence the Notified Area could not be converted into a Municipality. The petitioners' grievance is that without giving any opportunity to the members of the committee to have their say in the matter and without replying to their objections, the State Government in the Local Self -Government Department, purporting to act under Section 390A of the Act, by the impugned notification has declared that the Madhepura Notified Area Committee shall be converted into a Municipality with effect from the 15th December, 1967. By the same notification it has also been declared that for the period of transition, a committee of nineteen members, consisting of Respondents 2 to 20, shall exercise and perform all the powers and duties of the Commissioners of the Municipality. The petitioners have quoted various figures from the latest census report of the Government to show that the conditions imposed by Section 4 of the Act are not fulfilled, and that the impugned notification is wholly illegal and without jurisdiction, being in contravention of Section 4 of the Act. They further alleged that the State Government had no power to appoint an Ad Hoc Committee to be the office -bearers and the Commissioners of the Municipality constituted by the impugned notification and that the Minister Incharge of the Local Self -Government Department had constituted the Committee mala fide to give a majority to the people belonging to his political party,

(3.) The writ application was filed on the 13th December, 1967, and a supplementary affidavit was filed on the 14th December, 1967, the day when the application came up before a Bench of this court for admission. By the supplementary affidavit, certain clarifications were introduced in regard to the total male population of Madhepura as it appears from the census report. The application was admitted on the 14th December, 1967 and the operation of the impugned notifi - cation was stayed. On the 15th January, 1968, a counter -affidavit was filed on be -half of the Sub -Divisional Officer of Madhepura, who is Respondent No. 19, and on the same date another counter -affidavit was filed on behalf of the State of Bihar, Respondent No. 1, and the Civil Assistant Surgeon, Madhepura, Respondent No. 20, as also one was filed by Shree Kapildeo Mandal, Respondent No. 3. The stand taken on behalf of the respondents is that prior to the conversion of the Notified Area into a Municipality, a preliminary notice was issued inviting objections and suggestions and the objections which were received were examined and taken into account while finally publishing the notification dated the 8th December, 1967. All the pre -conditions imposed by Section 4 of the Act have been fulfilled. The State Government had power to appoint a Board for the transitory period until elections were held under the Act and that the appointment of the Ad Hoc Committee was not mala fide.