IMPORTANT POINT
A person residing in a constituency has not only a right to elect his representative, but also a right to be elected as the representative of the people residing in that constituency-On account of the said faulty procedure, a person residing in a particular constituency who is eligible to contest only from a general seat would be deprived of opportunity to contest for election for a considerably long period.

JUDGMENT :

Common questions relating to allotment of seats to various constituencies in the ensuing election to the local bodies in the State arise for consideration in these writ petitions. These writ petitions are, therefore, disposed of by this common judgment.

2. Before dealing with the questions, the facts which are not in dispute need to be stated. The petitioner in W.P.(C) No.21038 of 2020 is a member of Kalady Grama Panchayat, elected from Ward No.1 in the election held during 2015. He is desirous of contesting from Ward No.2 in the ensuing election, as Ward No.1 which was a general seat during the previous election would be reserved naturally for a reserved category in the ensuing election. Ward No.2 was a reserved seat for women in the election held during 2010, and for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes in the election held during 2015. According to the petitioner, having been successively reserved for two consecutive elections, the said constituency cannot be reserved for any category in the ensuing election. Ward No.2, however, is reserved for women in the ensuing election by the authorized officer of the State Election Commission (the Election Commission). The petitioner, therefore, challenges the said decision in the writ petition. He also seeks appropriate directions to the respondents to keep Ward No.2 of Kalady Grama Panchayat as a general seat in the ensuing election.

3. Coming to W.P.(C) No.21821 of 2020, the petitioner is a person residing in Ward No.6 of the Pala Municipality. As in W.P.(C) No.21038 of 2020, Ward No.6 of Pala Municipality was a seat reserved for women in the election held during 2010 and for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes in the election held during 2015. As in W.P.C) No.21038 of 2020, the petitioner in this case also maintains that having been successively reserved for two consecutive elections, the said constituency cannot be reserved for any category in the ensuing election. The said constituency, however, is reserved for women in the ensuing election by the authorized officer of the Election Commission. The petitioner, therefore, challenges the said decision in the writ petition. He also seeks appropriate directions to the respondents to keep Ward No.6 of Pala Municipality as a general seat in the ensuing election.

4. In the statements filed in these matters by the Election Commission, it was contended that the writ petitions are barred under Articles 243-O(a) and 243-ZG(a) of the Constitution. As regards the merits, it is stated by the Election Commission in the statements filed in W.P.(C) No.21038 of 2020 that the total strength of Kalady Grama Panchayat is 17; that the number of seats reserved for candidates belonging to Schedule Castes is one; that the number of seats reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes is one; that the number of seats reserved for women including women belonging to Scheduled Castes is nine; that the general seats would, therefore, be only seven; that since successive reservation of a seat for different categories is not prohibited, the seven general seats and Ward No.2 which was a seat reserved for candidates belonging Scheduled Castes in the 2015 election, were earmarked for women in the ensuing election and Ward No.2 became a women constituency accordingly. It is also stated that the remaining reserved seats were, thereupon, determined by drawing lots out of the reserved seats in the election held during 2015, after ensuring that no constituency is reserved successively for any category and that the decision taken by the officer authorized by the Election Commission in this regard is in accordance with the Constitution and the laws. Coming to W.P.(C) No.21821 of 2020, the stand taken by the Election Commission is that since Ward No.6 was a constituency reserved for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes in the election held during 2015, the same along with other general seats in the election held during 2015 were earmarked for women i