JUGRAJ Vs. RAJASTHAN STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Article 226 of the Constitution by Jugraj, and arises in the following circumstances:

(2.) The case relates to village Osia in which a Panchayat had been established under the Marwar Village Panchayat Act of 1945 (hereinafter called the Marwar Act). Prom the 1-1-1954, the Rajasthan Panchayat Act (No. 21) of 1953 (hereinafter called the Act) came into force. A notification was issued under the Act for the establishment of a Panchayat consisting of two villages namely Osia and Dhunaria. Thereafter, elections were held to this Panchayat of the two villages, and certain persons were elected. The applicant contends that under Section 93 (2) of the Act the Panchayats established under the Marwar Act were deemed to have been established under the Act from the date of its commencement, i.e. 1-1-1954. Therefore, it was not open to the State Government by means of a notification, dated 13-11-1954, to establish another Panchayat consisting of Osia and Dhunaria, and that if the State Government wanted to add any area to the Osia Panchayat, it should have taken action under Section 86 of the Act. No action was, however, taken under Section 86, and as the notification of 13-111954, establishing one Panchayat for two villages namely Osia and Dhunaria really amounted to adding further area to the existing Panchayat of Osia, the establishment of a Panchayat for Osia and Dhunaria was ultra vires of the powers of the State Government. A similar application relating to the Panchayat of Bar came to this Count, and' was decided by a Bench, of which one of us was a party, on 8-9-1955 (vide -' Bhomaram v. State of Rajas-than', Civil Writ No. 25 of 1955 (Raj) (A). It was held in that case that it was not open to the State Government to add areas to existing Panchayats without recourse to the provisions of Section 86 of the Act, and as that was not done in the case of the Panchayat at Bar, the reconstitution of the Bar Panchayat by addition of certain then villages to it was held to be against the provisions of the Act.

(3.) Since then an Ordinance has been issued by His Highness the Raj pramukh, which is titled as the Rajasthan Panchayat (Amendment). ordinance (order 15) of 1955 (hereinafter called the Ordinance), It came into force at the end of October, 1955. The question, therefore, arises whether in view of this Ordinance the decision in 'Bhomaram's case (A), remains good law or not.