Dave, J.—This is a writ application by Shri Deo Dutt Sharma under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

2. It is common ground between the parties that the petitioner was elected as a member of the Municipal Committee, Ajmer, under sec. 7 and 8 of the Ajmer-Merwara Municipalities Regulation, VI of 1925. The said municipal committee consisted of 32 elected members arid it began to function from 10th February, 1957. The elected Chairman of this Committee was one Shri Jwala Prasad but he tendered his resignation, and after its acceptance, the petitioner was elected to the office of chairman. A few members of the committee elected Shri P. C. Jain also as the chairman but his election was set aside by a decision of this Court in writ Petition No. 1 of 1959 decided on 24.4.59. The petitioner-then took charge of the office 6f chairman on 25.5.59. Thereafter, the Ajmer-Merwara Municipalities Regulation VI of 1925 was repealed by the Rajasthan Municipalities Act No. 38 of 1959, which will hereinafter be called as the Act, and the old municipal committee,Ajmer, started functioning as Municipal Council for the city of Ajmer under the new Act, from 17.10.59. On 30th October, 1959, the State of Rajasthan appointed the Collector, Ajmer, as the "prescribed authority" to whom a motion of no-confidence in the Chairman of the Municipal Council could be presented according to sec. 72 of the Act. On the same day, 17 members of the Municipal Council signed a motion of no-confidence and presented it in the office of the Collector, Ajmer. A meeting of the Municipal Council was then convened and held at the Municipal Council-office, Ajmer, on 27th November, 1959, and it was presided over by the Collector. After a sharp debate, for and against the motion, when the Collector proceeded to put the motion to vote, the petitioner raised an objection that 5 of the members in that meeting suffered from disqualification under clause (xiv) of sec. 26 the Act and therefore they should not be allowed to vote. This contention was ruled out by the President on the ground that a member did not automatically cease to function on account of any disqualification under sec. 26 and that he could continue to function till his removal by the Government under sec. 63. After this ruling of the President, the petitioner and his supporters left the meeting in protest. The no-confidence motion was then carried out by the remaining 18 members. On the next day, i.e., 28th November, 1959, the, Collector issued a memo informing the Municipal Council that Shri Deo Dutt Sharma should be deemed to have vacated his office with effect from 3 P. M. on 27th November, 1959. It is in order to challenge the correctness of the said ruling of the Collector that the present application has been filed.

3. It is contended by the petitioner that the Collector had issued a notice of the meeting only to 31 members of the Council and that no notice was issued to Shri H. B. Mehta who also continued to be a member of the said Council, since his resignation was not communicated to the Council. It is next contended that the petitioner had received a communication (Document No. 3) from the Collector asking him to supply a list of the members who were suffering from disqualification under sec. 26 (xiv) of the Act, that in response to the said letter, the Commissioner Municipal Council had sent the required list of the members who were in arrears in the payment of dues for more than one year, that in the face of this information the Collector ought not to have counted their votes and that since the motion was not carried out by a majority of the total number of members, the petitioner should not have been declared to have vacated his office. It is therefore prayed that the proceedings of 27th November, 1959, should be quashed and a writ, direction or order be issued to the non-petitioners restraining them from obstructing the petitioner in Carrying out his duties as Chairman of the Municipal Council, Ajm

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