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THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (THE HIGH COURT OF ASSAM: NAGALAND: MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
KALYAN RAI SURANA, PRANJAL DAS
Bharat Cheda – Appellant
Versus
State Of Arunachal Pradesh – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
K.R. Surana, J.
Heard Mr. T. Pertin, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. S. Tapin, learned Senior Govt. Advocate for respondent nos. 1 and 3; and Ms. N. Anju, learned standing counsel for the respondent no.2.
2) By filing this Public Interest Litigation under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner, namely, Bharat Cheda, has assailed the letter dated 22.12.2025 [28.12.2025], issued by the Deputy Commissioner, Itanagar Capital Region, by which post of Mayor of Itanagar Municipal Corporation was reserved for women; and to direct the State Election Commission to conduct the election for the post of Mayor of Itanagar Municipal Corporation without reserving the post for women.
3) The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the proviso to Sub-section (1) of Section 53 of the Arunachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act , 2019, prescribes that post of Mayor can only be reserved for Scheduled Tribes women by rotation or by drawing of lots only in the manner prescribed. It has been submitted that this would necessarily mean that the prescription regarding “manner” must be prescribed by the Legislature and thus, it was not permissible for
Reservation of the post of Mayor must follow prescribed legislative methods; absence of rules does not preclude lawful action by designated authorities.
The court mandated that reservation laws for elections must prioritize women in the Scheduled Caste category to ensure compliance with statutory requirements and support gender justice.
The classification of municipal posts based on population percentages must adhere strictly to constitutional mandates and cannot be altered through arbitrary administrative decisions.
The court emphasized that the State Legislature has decided to rotate the seats of reserved categories, exercising its discretion in favor of the rotation of seats only, and quashed the impugned gaze....
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the reservation of seats in Municipal Council elections should adhere to the provisions of the Rules 1999, ensuring co-terminus reservation te....
(1) Reservation of Office of Mayor in Municipal Corporation – Legislative intent is to exclude Corporations which were earlier reserved for a particular category until all categories are provided res....
All women belonging to all categories, irrespective of their religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, are entitled to contest election for seats meant for all as well as women belonging to Open ....
The main legal point established in the judgment is that reservation is with reference to the category/caste to which the person belongs and not the nature of the constituency from which they were el....
The reservation for women in the Municipality Act includes all categories of women, irrespective of whether they are from exclusively reserved seats or unreserved seats.
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