I.S.Tiwana, J.

1. The short but somewhat significant question raised in this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, relates to the scope of the Governments power under section 20(1) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (for short, the Act) to approve or not to approve the election of a member as President of the Municipal Committee. The following facts which are otherwise not in dispute clearly bring but the contours of the controversy raised in this petition.

2. The petitioner was elected as a member of the Municipal Committee, Abohar - a Class I Committee - in the year 1979. Later on August 7, 1979, he was unanimously elected as President of the Committee. Vide notification dated June 10, 1983, he was removed from the office of the President and membership of the Committee with a further disqualification for five years from contesting the election to the same. One of the charges found established against him was that he had leased out a piece of land measuring 40 `200 for a period of ninety-nine years to the Bhartiya Janta Party to which party he admittedly belonged and this amounted to misuse of Power on his part even though the matter had later been place