JUDGMENT :

Chakradhari Sharan Singh, J.

Sub-section (4) of Section 25 of the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007 ('Municipal Act' for short) postulates the removal of a Chief Councillor/Deputy Chief Councillor of a Municipality within the meaning of Section 12 of the Municipal Act read with Article 243 Q of the Constitution of India, from office by a resolution carried by a majority of a whole number of the Councillors holding office for the time being in force at a special meeting to be called for this purpose in the manner prescribed, once a requisition is made in this regard, in writing by not less than one-third of the total number of Councillors, in accordance with the procedure of conduct of business, in a special meeting as may be prescribed.

2. There are three provisos to sub-section (4) of Section 25, which prohibit bringing the No-Confidence Motion in three different circumstances. The third proviso states that No Confidence Motion shall not be brought within the Municipality's residual period of six months.

3. The Bihar Municipal No Confidence Motion Process Rules, 2010 ('the Rules' for short) have been framed in exercise of powers conferred by the aforesaid sub-section (4) of Section 25 and 419 of the Municipal Act for deciding the process and conduct of No Confidence Motion to be brought against Chief Councillor/Deputy Chief Councillor of urban local bodies. Sub Rule (i) of Rule 2 of the Rules requires that a special meeting of the elected Councillor shall be called for removal of the Chief Councillor/Deputy Chief Councillor under sub-section (4) of Section 25 of the Act. Such special meeting shall be requisitioned and signed by not less than one-third of the total number of elected Councillors which shall be given to the Chief Councillor. It further requires issuance of a notice by the Chief Councillor for convening the special meeting of the urban local body within 7 days from the receipt of requisition and further, the meeting shall be convened within 15 days from the date of issuance of notice.

4. On a plain reading of sub Rule (i) of Rule 2 of the Rules would suggest that it is incumbent upon the Chief Councillor to issue a notice within seven days from the receipt of requisition and convening a meeting within 15 days of the issuance of notice. The Chief Councillor, thus, may take a maximum of 22 days to convene a meeting under the Rules. Sub Rule (iii) of Rule 2 of the Rules deals with a situation where the Chief Councillor refuses or fails to issue a notice convening the meeting within the stipulated time and prescribes that the special meeting shall be convened under Section 48(3) of the Act, in such circumstance. In the present case, admittedly, the residual period of six months of the Municipal Corporation, Bhagalpur was ending on 09.06.2022. The petitioners submitted a requisition on 01.12.2021, which, according to them, was signed by 21 Councillors out of 51 Councillors. The requisitionist came to be communicated through a letter dated 11.12.2021 issued under the signature of the Municipal Commissioner, Bhagalpur, based on a legal opinion obtained in this regard, that No-Confidence Motion upon the said requisition dated 01.12.2021 is impermissible as per the provision under Section 25 of the Act.

5. It is the petitioners' case that the date of filing of requisition should be treated to be the date of bringing No-Confidence Motion and, therefore, the requisition having been filed more than six months before the term of the Corporation was coming to an end, the third proviso could not be said to be putting a bar on the No-Confidence Motion. In the background described above, the petitioners have filed the present writ application seeking quashing of the aforementioned communication dated 11.12.2021 issued by the Municipal Commissioner, Bhagalpur. They seek a Mandamus from this Court to the Municipal Commissioner, Bhagalpur, to convene a special meeting of No Confidence Motion based on the requisition mentioned above dat