The appointment/continuance of the existing elected body as Administrator after the expiration of their term would be contrary to the mandate of Article 243E of the Constitution and the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959.

JUDGMENT

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally with the consent of the learned Counsel appearing for the parties.

2. By these Petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners are challenging Maharashtra Ordinance No. X of 2020 dated 25/06/2020; Government Resolution (for short 'GR') dated 13/07/2020 issued by Rural Development Department, Maharashtra State; the Circular dated 14/07/2020 issued by Rural Development Department, Maharashtra State.

THE BACKGROUND FACTS

3. The term of about 14,234 Village Panchayats in the State of Maharashtra was to expire between the period from 01/04/2020 upto 31/12/2020. Clause (1) of Article 243E of the Constitution of India provides that every Panchayat, unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer. Clause (3) (a) of Article 243E provides that an election to constitute a Panchayat shall be completed before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (1). In view of the constitutional mandate, the State Election Commission was obliged to conduct the general elections before the expiry of their terms as provided by Article 243E. However, due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, it became impossible for the State Election Commission to conduct such elections. Hence, considering the emergency situation, the State Election Commission decided to postpone these elections until further orders. In order to ensure that the offices of the Village Panchayats do not remain vacant and to ensure the day to day functioning of the Village Panchayats is not impeded, the State Election Commission called upon the State Government to appoint Administrators over all such Village Panchayats by communications dated 20/04/2020 and 01/06/2020.

4. The State Government promulgated an Ordinance on 25/06/2020 being Maharashtra Ordinance No. X of 2020 ('Ordinance' for short) whereby it introduced an amendment to section 151(1) (a) of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959 (for short 'said Act'). By this Ordinance, proviso was added to section 151(1)(a) to enable the State Government to appoint a 'suitable' person as an Administrator over the Village Panchayats whose elections could not be held by the State Election Commission as per schedule due to natural calamity or emergency or war or financial emergency or administrative dificulties or epidemic disease.

5. Prior to the issuance of this Ordinance, there was no provision in the Act for appointing Administrator to the Village Panchayats if the elections could not be held as per schedule due to natural calamity or such other contingencies which are beyond human control. The only provision to appoint Administrator over the Village Panchayat existed under section 151(1)(a) of the said Act enabling the State Government to appoint an Administrator only when it was dissolved by the State Government in the contingency where it appeared to the State Government that the Panchayat has not been validly constituted under the Act requiring its dissolution, but not otherwise.

6. In exercise of powers conferred by the Ordinance, the State Government issued a Government Resolution ('GR' for short) dated 13/07/2020 authorising the Chief Executive Officers of the Zilla Parishad to appoint any 'suitable' person as an Administrator on such Village Panchayats upon consultation with the Guardian Minister of the respective districts.

7. Before we proceed to deal with the submissions of learned Counsel for the petitioners on merits, it would be necessary to refer to the statement of learned Advocate General that no 'private individual' will be appointed as an Administrator and further that only such person will be appointed as Administrator who is already working as a "government officer / servant" till the Panchayats are constituted after holding elections.

8. In view of the statement made by learned Advocate General, learned Counsel for the