ORAL JUDGMENT: {Per Dabholkar, J}:

1. By this petition, the petitioners, who represent the village panchayat Talegaon and who are also members of the said village panchayat, challenge the notification dated 16th August, 2007, No.VPM 2607/CR-4334/PR-4(22) issued by the Rural Development and Water Conservation Department, Government of Maharashtra. By the said notification, original revenue village Talegaon, which within its territorial limits, comprises Krishnanagar, was bifurcated into two revenue villages by exercising the powers as conferred by Article 243(g) of the Constitution of India r.w. Section 4 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958 (Bombay Act III of 1959). The two newly constituted revenue villages are Talegaon and Krishnanagar, both within Chalisgaon tahsil of Jalgaon district. Consequently, the notification issued by the Additional Collector, Jalgaon on 26.10.2007, No. Sasha/gramapa/kavi/85/2007, inviting objections for constitution of wards in the gram panchayat for election of panchayat of Krishnanagar is also sought to be quashed.

2. It is admitted position that the proposal for such bifurcation was initiated by the Group Gram Panchayat Talegaon which comprises within it hamlet (Tanda) Krishnanagar, Talathi had certified the population of Talegaon to be 4,238 and of Krishnanagar to be 2,246. The Block Development Officer had given no objection to the said proposal in view of the fact that village Krishnanagar was one and half Kms. away from Talegaon. During the pendency of the said proposal with the State Government, the State Election Commission had also issued proposal for election process of village Talegaon (erstwhile inclusive of Krishnanagar).

3. It is the contention of the petitioners that the notification is vitiated by two vices- (I) According to the petitioners, the notification is issued after election process for village panchayat Talegaon (Original) had commenced and the Code of Conduct was made applicable. This was in breach of Condition (Z) as incorporated in the Government Resolution No.2603/ prakra.1544/ parra-4(22) dated 12th February, 2004 issued by the Deputy Secretary. A copy of this notification is at Exh.N (paper-book pages 60 to 62) and it is evident that the notification is issued by order and in the name of Governor of Maharashtra. According to Advocate Shri Deshmukh, the conditions in the notification, therefore, have statutory force; (II) The notification is also issued in breach of the requirement of subsection (2) of Section 4 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, which reads thus: . "

4. Declaration of Village:- (1) ....... (2) Where the circumstances so require to include or exclude any local area from the local area of a village or to alter the limits of a village or that a local area shall cease to be a village, then the notification issued in the like manner after consultation with the Standing Committee and the Gram Sabha and the panchayat concerned, at any time, may provide to- (a) include within, or exclude from any village, any local area or otherwise alter the limits of any village, or (b) declare that any local area shall cease to be a village; and thereupon the local area shall be so included or excluded, or the limits of the village so altered, or, as the case may be, the local area shall cease to be a village." . According to Advocate Shri Deshmukh for the petitioners, there has been no consultation with 5 the standing committee of the Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon and also with the Gram Sabha of village Talegaon and, therefore, the notification vitiates being in breach of legal mandate and he has, therefore, prayed for striking it down.

4. Rule, made returnable forthwith by mutual consent.

5. So far as first objection is concerned, Advocate Shri Shelke, on instructions, has produced on record a communication from the Addl. Collector, Jalgaon which is taken on record and marked as Exh.X, which indicates that the notification regarding formation of wards for the ele

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