JUDGMENT :

JYOTSNA REWAL DUA, J.

1. This bunch of writ petitions questions the preparation, implementation and rotation of election reservation roster in Gram Panchayats for purposes of ensuing 2020-21 elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the State. Common contention of the petitioners is that election reservation roster prepared by the State for 2020-2021 elections is inherently faulty, as a result, reservation of previous election years has been repeated for offices in the Gram Panchayats/areas involved in the writ petitions in the now scheduled elections thereby denying equal opportunity of representation to members of other categories. Involving common questions of law, these writ petitions, therefore, are taken up together for disposal.

Facts from lead case CWP No. 5987 of 2020, Manish Dharmaik Vs. State of H.P. are being considered hereinafter for comprehending the issue raised in this bunch of writ petitions.

Grievance

2. Petitioner’s grouse is that in ensuing 2020-2021 elections to be conducted for Panchayati Raj Institutions (for short PRI) in the respondent-State under The Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (in short the Act) and H.P. Panchayati Raj (Election) Rules, 1994 (in short the Rules), the seat of Pradhan in Gram Panchayat Khagna, Development Block Chopal, District Shimla, H.P. has been reserved for women (General). The office/area in question was reserved for women (General) in 2010 elections, for scheduled castes (open) in 2015 and, therefore, could not be kept for women (General) in 2020 elections. This amounts to repeating the reservation in the area for women (General) thereby denying the opportunity of representation to various other categories. Repeating the reservation in the area for women (General) is contrary to the principle of rotation envisaged in the Constitution of India, the ‘Act’ and the ‘Rules’.

Since the legal question raised is with respect to the alleged illegal repetition of reservation of an area for a particular category in forthcoming elections to PRI, therefore, following needs to be comprehended before proceeding further :-

(i) Related Legal Provisions.

(ii) Methodology adopted by the respondent State in preparing, applying and rotating reservation roster for election to PRI.

3. Related Legal Provisions

3(i)(a) Article 243 under Part IX of the Constitution of India pertains to Panchayats. Article 243D provides for reservation of seats in Panchayat elections as under :-

“243D. Reservation of seats

(1) Seats shall be reserved for :-

(a) the Scheduled Castes; and

(b) the Scheduled Tribes,

in every Panchayat and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the, total number of seats to be filled by direct election in that Panchayat as the population of the Scheduled Castes in that Panchayat area or of the Scheduled Tribes in that Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat

(2) Not less than one third of the total number of seats reserved under clause ( 1 ) shall be reserved for women belonging, to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes.

(3) Not less than one third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat.

(4) The offices of the Chairpersons in the Panchayats at the village or any other level shall be reserved for the Scheduled Caste,s the Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide:

Provided that the number of offices of Chairpersons reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Panchayat