JUDGMENT :

CHAKRADHARI SHARAN SINGH, J.

1. Section 8(c) of the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007 (in short ‘the Act’) confers upon the State Government power, inter-alia, to include within a municipal area, any local area contiguous to such municipal area and defined in the notification. Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Act deal with constitution of municipal areas. Section 7 of the Act deals with classification of municipalities which is not relevant for controversy at hand. The first proviso to Section 8 of the Act envisages that the procedure laid down for constitution of a municipal area under the Act (Sections 3 to 6 of the Act) shall be followed mutatis mutandis in each such case.

2. Section 12 of the Act deals with constitution of municipality, sub-section (8) of which provides that in a municipal area newly constituted, the local authority, having jurisdiction over such area, immediately before such area was constituted in a municipal area, shall continue to have jurisdiction and perform its function till such time, not exceeding six months from the date of notification under Section 6 of the Act as may be necessary for holding elections. Sub-Section (9) of Section 12 of the Act confers authority upon the State Government of Bihar to designate persons/person as Administrator of Board of Administrators as may be notified.

3. This is not in dispute that there existed a Nagar Parishad, Masaurhi. In exercise of power under Section 8(c) of the Act, certain panchayats have been included within the municipal area of Nagar Parishad, Masaurhi, with the issuance of a notification dated 03.03.2021 by the Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Bihar, under Sections 3(1)(a), 4, 5, 6 and 8 of the Act. After issuance of the said notification dated 03.03.2021, elections could not be held for the said Nagar Parishad. The State Government has come out with a notification dated 13.12.2021 in exercise of power under sub-section (9) of Section 12 of the Act, appointing the District Magistrate of the concerned district or any Additional Collector authorized by him to be the Administrator of the said Nagar Parishad. The said notification dated 13.12.2021 is under challenge in the present writ application.

4. The only question of law which has emerged in the present writ application on the basis of rival submissions made on behalf of the parties is; whether the impugned notification shall have the effect of a notification under Section 6 of the Act, in view of the first proviso to Section 8 of the Act.

5. At the very outset, it is noted that the aforesaid notification dated 03.03.2021 is a composite notification under Sections 6 and 8 of the Act.

6. The facts are brief and not in dispute. The notification dated 03.03.2021 issued by the State Government is not under challenge, whereby some panchayats came to be included within the municipal area of Nagar Parishad, Masaurhi.

7. We have heard Mr. S.B.K. Mangalam, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Mr. Ravish Chandra, learned AC to SC-6 on behalf of the State of Bihar.

8. Mr. Mangalam, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner has submitted that though Section 6 of the Act has been mentioned in the notification dated 03.03.2021, whereby certain Gram Panchayats have been included in the municipal area of Nagar Parishad, Masaurhi, the said notification can be treated to be a notification under Section 8 of the Act and not a notification under Section 6 of the Act. He has accordingly submitted that since the notification dated 03.03.2021 is a notification under Section 8 of the Act, sub-section (8) of Section 12 of the Act, which refers to notification under Section 6 of the Act, is inapplicable. Such being the position, the State Government could not have invoked the provisions under sub-section (9) of Section 12 of the Act by appointing Administrator, treating the Nagar Parishad, Masaurhi, to be dissolved upon its reconstitution by the said notification dated 03.03.