BHEENWARAM Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge in this writ petition is to the legality and validity of notification dtd. 1/6/2021 passed by the State Government in exercise of powers under Sec. 3 sub-sec. (1) Clause (a) read with sub-sec. (8) Clause (c) of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act,2009, whereby, the State Government has made provision dealing with transitory period between declaration of village area as municipality area and the elections to be held thereafter.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner would argue that the power conferred on the State under Sec. 3 sub-sec. (9) is limited to facilitate the inclusion of any area of a village in a municipality which by its very nature, does not allow the State to make any provision with regard to the Office of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of newly created / established municipality.

(3.) Submission is that the legislature in its wisdom provided in Clause (c) sub-sec. (8) of Sec. 3 that until elections are held or the terms of the municipality as provided under the Act expires, whichever is earlier, the Sarpanch, Upsarpanch or Panchas representing the area of the village so included, or declared as a municipality shall be deemed to be the additional members of the municipality, in which, such area of the village is included or the Chairperson, Vice-chairperson and the members respectively of the municipality declared for such area, as the case may be. As the legislature did not specifically provide for any eventuality where more than one village area are clubbed together and declared as municipality, it is not within the authority of the State to lay down an additional provision providing for the manner in which the Chairperson and Vice-chairperson of the newly created municipality would be appointed or deemed to be appointed. He would submit that in the absence of any such provision, the provision contained in the Municipality Act providing for election of Chairperson and Vice-chairperson from amongst the ward members of the newly created municipality would become applicable and therefore, the State was left with no option but to leave the matter for appointment of Chairperson and Vicechairperson to be appointed under the scheme of the Municipality Act.