PAWAN KUMAR Vs. STATE AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Through the medium of instant writ petition, petitioner seeks the following relief(s):-

(2.) The precisely stated facts in the case are that the petitioner is that the petitioner is a social worker and an Ex-Panch of Ward No. 5 of Panchayat Circle Mandi Kehli, Block Samba, Tehsil and District Samba. The said panchayat has 10 Wards, which include Ward No. 4 also to which petitioner belongs. Section 5 of the Municipal Act, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) provides for notification of intention of Government to include a local area in a municipal area. The provisions of Section 5 of the aforesaid Act are reproduced here under:-

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that vide letter No. PS/FC/H &UDD/71/2018 dated 07th August, 2018, the Housing and Urban Development Department granted approval for the creation of 17 new wards by including the area of Ward Nos. 4, 5 and 6 of Panchayat Circle Area of Kandi Kehli also in Municipal area, as the population of Municipal Committee, Samba had crossed 20,000. Accordingly, respondent No. 7 vide Office Letter No. ENT/DCS/2018-19/539 dated 09th August, 2018 was directed by the department to carry out fresh delimitation and redistribution of area and voters in 17 wards after ensuring that allocation of voters in each ward has to be nearly equally number as far as possible and to submit proposal thereupon. Accordingly, respondent No. 7 submitted the proposal and the respondent No. 5 on the basis of the above said proposal and in terms of powers vested in her under section 10(2) of the aforesaid Act delimit the Municipal Area, Samba into 17 Wards vide Notification No. ENT/DCS/2018-19/571-574 (Annexure-B) dated 13th August, 2018 and informed the general public to file objections to the aforementioned proposal within five days, i.e., by or before 18th August, 2018 with the respondent No. 7. It is only after the issuance of Notification dated 13th August, 2018, the inhabitants of Ward Nos. 4, 5 and 6 of Panchayat Circle Area of Mandi Kehli came to know about the inclusion of Ward Nos. 4, 5 and 6 within the local area of Municipal Area, Samba. After coming to know about the inclusion of their wards without any prior notification, the inhabitants of the respective wards approached respondent No. 7 and filed their objections, thereby submitting that no notification with regard to the intention of the Government to include the area of ward Nos. 4, 5 and 6 within Municipal Area Limit has ever been issued by the official respondents and they were provided with any opportunity to file objections in this regard and requested him to consider their objections first and then to proceed ahead only after considering the same, as the entire process of inclusion of their wards within the Municipal Limit is against the procedures/rules laid down for this purpose, but the respondent No. 7 did pay any heed to their objections and intimated them that a Notification dated 21st January, 2017 has already been issued for the purpose of inclusion of Ward Nos. 4, 5 and 6 within Municipal Committee, Samba and made over a copy of Notification dated 21st January, 2017 to them. As per notification dated 21st January, 2017, the Khasra Numbers of Ward Nos. 4, 5 and 6 of Panchayat Circle, Mandi Kehli mentioned at Serial Nos. 4 and 5 of the above said notification have been included within Municipal Committee, Samba.