Petitioners challenge Ext.P7 orders passed by the 1st respondent. The Kerala State Election Commission, disqualifying them under Sec.36 read with sec.35(p) of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act.

The impugned orders were rendered on the basis that the petitioners, being conveners, had failed to convene the meetings of the Grama Sabha, as required of them under Section 3(3) of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act.

2. The facts of the case are that, the petitioners are members elected from ward Nos. 5 and 6 of Akalakunnam Grama Panchayat and were sworn in on 10.2005. The President was elected on 10.2005 and the first meeting of the Panchayat was held on 110.2005.

3. In so far as the issue raised in these writ petitions is concerned, it needs to be noticed that the first meeting of the Grama Sabha in so far as Ward No.5 was held on 28.1.2006 and the second meeting was held on 28.2006. In so far as Ward No.6 is concerned, the first meeting was held on 11.2006 and the second one, on 28.2006. The 2nd respondent in WP(C) 37935 of 2007 filed a petition before the 1st respondent, alleging that the Panchayat was constituted on 10.2005, and that the 1st and IInd Grama Sabhas were convened by the petitioner only on 28.1.2006 and 28.7.2006. In so far as WP(C) 37968 of 2007 is concerned, it was alleged that the 1st and 2nd Grama Sabhas were convened by the petitioner only on 30.1.2006 and 19.8.2006. On this basis it was alleged that there was two consecutive failure on the part of the petitioners to convene Grama Sabha and that by their failure, the petitioners herein have rendered themselves liable to be disqualified in terms of Sec.35(p) of the Act. It was accepting this contention that Ext.P7 orders have been passed disqualifying the petitioners.

4. As already noticed, the ground on which the petitioners have been disqualified is that they have failed twice consecutively in convening meetings of the Grama Sabha atleast once in three months and the question is whether they had such an obligation. Sec.3(3) of the Panchayat Raj Act as it stood prior to 28.2005 provided that the “Grama Sabha shall meet atleast once in three months at the place fixed by the Village Panchayat.” By Act 31/2005, with effect from 28.2005, sub-sec.(3) has been substituted as follows:-

“Grama Sabha shall meet at the place, date and time, fixed by the Convener of Grama Sabha in consultation with the president of the village Panchayat and the Convener of the Grama Sabha shall intimate the details of the meeting to the Grama Sabha Members by a public notice and to such meetings, the Convener of Grama Sabha shall, compulsorily invite the member of the Block Panchayat, the District Panchayat and the Legislative Assembly representing the area of the Grama Sabha:

Provided that the Convener shall, on a request in writing made by not less than ten percent of the members of any Grama Sabha, convene a special meeting of the Grama Sabha within fifteen days with the agenda given along with the request:

Provided further that such special meeting shall be convened only once within the period between two general meetings.

5. A reading of Sec.3(3) of the Act extracted above shows that with the amendment, the provision that the Grama Sabha shall meet atleast once in three months stands deleted and that there is no such prescription in the Act with effect from 28.2005. True, Sec.35(p) of the Act provides that a member is liable to be disqualified if he “has failed, twice consecutively, to convene the meetings of the Grama Sabha, due once in three months, of which he is the convener”. Sec.35(p) of the Act thus provides for the consequence of non compliance with sec.3(3) of the Act.

6. A closer reading of sec.35(p) shows that an amendment corresponding to the amendment effected to sec.3(3) by Act 3/2005 was omitted to be incorporated to that section. This means that although the substantive provision does not create and obligation on the convener to convene a

meeting of the Grama Sabha atle