BEHARILAL Vs. DIRECTOR OF LOCAL BODIES RAJASTHAN JAIPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition is directed against an order of the Director of Local Bodies dated 6th January, 1960. The petitioner has moved that the order in question is without jurisdiction and ought to be set aside.

(2.) THE petitioner was elected on the 14th of November, 1958, a member of the Municipal Board, Sikar. In the Revised Second Five Year Plan the Government of India made a provision for a scheme of water supply to the State of Rajasthan and the State of Rajasthan in its turn prepared a scheme for water supply in Sikar. Accordingly, the Director of Local Bodies was informed on the 28th of December, 1955, that the water supply scheme for Sikar town should be prepared by the Superintending Engineer in con-sultation with the Chairman of the Municipal Board. THE Superintending Engineer got into touch with the Municipal Board about the details of the water supply scheme and informed the Chairman of the Board that the execution of the work would be taken up on the acceptance by the Board of the scheme in question. Of course the execution of the work had to be done by the Public Works Department; but the expenditure incurred for the scheme was to be treated as a loan against the Municipal Board, Sikar, for which the Board was required to execute a bond accepting the loan in question. On the 12th of July, 1959, the Municipal Board by its resolution accepted the proposed scheme sent to it by the Superintending Engineer, and thereafter the officers of the Public Works Department proceeded to execute the scheme. THE Executive Engineer, Water Works, then invited tenders for construction of clear water reservoir and pump house etc. THE petitioner, who was also an approved contractor working under the District Board, submitted his tenders for those constructions and his tenders in due course were accepted by the Executive Engineer, Water Works, Jaipur. THEreafter on the 30th of September, 1959, the Chairman, Municipal Board Sikar, served a notice on the petitioner alleging that in view of the fact that he had obtained the contract in question, he was disqualified under sec. 12 (3) (a) of the Rajasthan Town Municipalities Act, 1951, (Act No. XXIII of 1951 - hereinafter called "the old Acts) to be a member of the Municipal Board, Sikar. THE petitioner, however, took the stand that he had incurred no such disqualification as the contract in question was not a contract on behalf of the Municipal Board of Sikar but was a contract granted by the Executive Engineer, Water Works, Jaipur, on behalf of the Government of Rajasthan. On the 8th of October, 1959, the Chairman held that the petitioner had incurred the disqualification in question and could no longer continue as a member of the Municipal Board. In consequence a dispute arose between the petitioner on the one hand and the Chairman of the Municipal Board on the other and on the 12th of October, 1959, the matter was referred to the Director of Local Bodies under sec. 12 (5) of the old Act. It may be mentioned here that although under sec. 19 (5) of the Act the State Government enjoyed the power to decide any dispute as to whether a vacancy bad or had not occurred within the meaning of sec. 12, under sec. 207 of the Act the Government had been authorised to delegate the power to the Director of Local Bodies, which it had done by virtue of a Notification dated 9th of May, 1957. Accordingly the Director or Local Bodies, came to have seisin of the matter when the dispute was referred to him for decision on the 12th of October, 1959. THE Director of Local Bodies by the order in question before us held that the contract taken by the petitioner for the constructions aforesaid was a contract on behalf of the Municipal Board and as such the petitionee stood disqualified from the membership of the Board and his seat should be deemed to have fallen vacant.