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High Court Of Rajasthan
Judgename : M.R.CALLA
AZIZULLA KHAN - Appellant
Versus
STATE - Respondent
S. B. C. W. P. 3286 Of 1990
Decided On : 09/06/1990
The court heard and decided several writ petitions filed by various petitioners challenging the pre-election matters related to municipal boards and municipal councils in Rajasthan. The court analyzed the relevant provisions of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 1959, and the Rajasthan Municipalities (Amendment Ordinance, 1989), and the rules framed thereunder, to determine the legality of the actions taken by the state government and the election department.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioners alleged that the draft proposals for the demarcation of wards were issued and published arbitrarily, without due regard to the strength and density of voters, and that the finalization of the same was done in an arbitrary manner, resulting in the change of numbers of wards and the reservation of particular wards without any rational or lawful justification. They also raised concerns about the statement made by the government in a previous case regarding the undertaking of a census for municipal areas and the delimitation of wards.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the state government and the election department had failed to discharge their obligations in accordance with the law with regard to the formation and demarcation of wards, the identification of wards to be reserved for women and SC/ST, and the allotment and numbering/renumbering of wards. The court held that the actions taken by the authorities were arbitrary and in violation of the provisions of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act and the rules framed thereunder.
Issues: 1. Whether the state government and the election department had acted in accordance with the law in the demarcation of wards and the reservation of seats for women and SC/ST. 2. Whether the change of numbers of wards and the reservation of particular wards were done arbitrarily and without any rational or lawful justification. 3. Whether the statement made by the government in a previous case regarding the undertaking of a census for municipal areas and the delimitation of wards was binding on the government.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the state government and the election department had failed to discharge their obligations in accordance with the law with regard to the formation and demarcation of wards, the identification of wards to be reserved for women and SC/ST, and the allotment and numbering/renumbering of wards. The court found that the actions taken by the authorities were arbitrary and in violation of the provisions of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act and the rules framed thereunder. The court also held that the statement made by the government in a previous case regarding the undertaking of a census for municipal areas and the delimitation of wards was binding on the government and should have been followed.
Final Decision: The court allowed the writ petitions and directed the authorities concerned to carry out the following directions within three months from the date of the judgment: 1. Identify the municipal areas where the population has exceeded 5 lacs and create municipal corporations instead of municipal councils for such areas. 2. Form the wards in each municipal area keeping in view the provisions of Section 13 of the Act and the principle of 10% plus minus. 3. Identify the wards to be reserved for women (including SC/ST women) and for SC/ST on the basis of the percentage of voters of the categories for which the ward is to be reserved. 4. Allot numbers to the wards to be reserved for women (including SC/ST women) as 3 and the multiple of 3. Allot numbers to the wards to be reserved for SC/ST, including the number of wards reserved for SC/ST women. 5. Follow the principle of contiguity while allotting the numbers and make efforts to complete the circle from the first ward to the last ward. 6. Duly consider the objections, if any, filed after the publication of the draft notification before finalizing the same. 7. Call upon the electorate for election for Corporation/council/boards after completing the preparatory measures in accordance with law and complying with the directions given by the court. 8. Issue the notification calling upon the electorate for election immediately thereafter, latest by 31/12/1990.
M. R. CALLA, J.
( 1 ) THE following cases involving common and identical questions with regard to pre-election matters in relation to the Municipal Boards and Municipal council were heard together and the same are being decided by this common judgment. The details of the cases are as under: - s. No. No. of cases title of cases date of presentation municipal Board / Council 1. SBCWP No. 3286/90 azizulla Khan v. State and Ors. 31-7-90 tonk 2. " No. 3428/90 sabir Ahmed Qureshi v. State and Ors. 10-8-90 jaipur 3. " No. 3424/90 anil Shah v. State and Ors. 10-8-90 jaipur 4. " No. 3473/90 ram Narain v. State 16-8-90 kota 5. " No. 3448/90 abdul Zaleel v. State 16-8-90 kota 6. " No. 3431/90 kamal Kumar v. State of Raj and Ors. 13-8-90 kota 7. " No. 3372/90 nathu Lal v. State and Ors. 4-8-90 chhabra (Kota) 8. " No. 3452/90 dharamveer Agrawal v. State 16-8-90 alwar 9. " No. 3432/90 chandra Kant Sharma v. State 13-8-90 bharatpur 10. " No. 3445/90 dalu Ram v. State and Ors. 13-8-90 pilani (Khunjhunu) 11. " No. 3449/90 rafiq Mohd v. State and Ors. 16-8-90 sunel (Distt. Jhalawar) 12. " No. 3441/90 jagannath Sharma v. State and Ors. 16-8-90 narayana (Distt. Jaipur) 13. " No. 3390/90 rajendra Kumar v. State and Ors. 16-7-90 gangapur City (Distt. Sawaimadhopur)@@@
( 2 ) WHEN these writ petitions came up before the Court, the copies of the petitions were made available to Shri M. I. Khan, Addl. Advocate General for the State of Rajasthan and for other respondents who were functionaries of the Government. It was not considered necessary to issue notice to the respondents other than the State functionaries and the Municipal Boards/councils who had been impleaded as respondents in certain cases and with the consent of both sides, the matters were finally heard. A detailed reply was filed on behalf of the respondents by Shri M. I. Khan in one of the cases, namely Azizullah v. State (S. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 3286/1990) and Shri M. I. Khan was also permitted to make submissions with reference to records to meet the objection pointed out on behalf of the petitioners and the grievances raised by them in the various petitions.
( 3 ) THE draft proposals for the demarcation of wards had been issued and published in the month of April, 1990 and the same had been finalised in the month of June, 1990, for holding elections to various Municipal Boards/councils in Rajasthan. It is a dismal fact that while preparing, issuing and publishing the draft proposals and finalisation of the same, due care and caution was not taken and in several cases the numbers of wards were changed arbitrarily; due regard was not given to the strength and density of voters in the councils/boards and wards therein. The grievances in the formation of wards, the change of numbers of wards in the name of delimitation of wards in an arbitrary manner even without inclusion or exclusion of areas therein, in certain cases numbering and reserving particular wards without any rational and lawful justification and the statement made before a Bench of this Court on 29/11/1989 on behalf of the Government in S. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 4841/1988 Ram Saran Antyanuprasi v. State, have given rise to the mushroom growth of writ petitions before the issue of the notification for election so much so that the cases were filed even on 17/08/1990 while all these matters were being heard. The order dated 29/11/1989, passed in S. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 4841/88 is reproduced as under: -"honble Bhargava, J. Mr. M. C. Jain Kagzi for the petitioner; Mr. K. L. Pareek, for the State; Mr. A. K. Bhandari, for the Municipal Council. This writ petition has been filed on 19-12-1988 with the prayer that the State Govt. be directed to undertake census for the municipal areas and of all wards separately preparatory to fresh delimitation of municipal wards; to take active steps for delimitation of the Jaipur Municipal Wards and to give the same proper publicity and further that the voters list for every
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