Mr. Hemant Gupta, J.: - This order shall dispose of Civil Writ Petition Nos.6933 and 6950 of 2012 as common questions of law and facts are involved in these cases.

2. The petitioners have sought a writ of mandamus for directing the respondents to ensure delimitation of Wards of the Municipal Corporation as per Census 2011 before publication of the Notification under Section 35 of the Punjab State Election Commission Act, 1994 of the election schedule.

3. It is averred by the petitioners that the first meeting of the elected Councillors of Municipal Corporation, Amritsar, was held on 08.09.2007. The duration of the term of the Councillors of the Corporation is five years as per Section 7 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 (for short ‘the Act’). It is averred that the total number of the elected members of the Corporation is to be determined by the Board under the Clause 4 of the Delimitation of Wards of Municipal Corporation Order, 1995 (for short the Order). The said provision contemplates that the Delimitation Board shall readjust the wards as and when the limits of the City are altered or there is increase in the population of the City or there is abnormal variation in population or voting figures at some of the wards of the City necessitate such readjustment.

4. It is pleaded that on the basis of the Census of the year 2001, the number of the elected councillors for a Corporation were determined as 65 as notified on 29.03.2004. The reservations were also made in terms of Section 6 of the Act. But now there is increase in the population as per Census concluded in the year 2011, which necessitates the increase of wards. The notification dated 30.9.2006 contemplates that if the population is up to 15 lakhs, the number of elected councillors shall be 75. Since the population of Amritsar is said to be 12,24,616 as per the 2011 Census, therefore, the elections can be held only after re-determining the number of wards. The petitioners have also challenged the manner of reservation of the seats of the women and Scheduled Cases in the present petitions.

5. In the short affidavit filed on behalf of the respondents, it has been averred that Department of Local Government has issued a notification dated 20.04.2012 for holding general elections to elect the members of Municipal Corporations of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala by 2nd week of June, 2012 in terms of Section 7A of the Act. Such notification has been appended with the affidavit as Annexure R-2/1. It has also been averred that the State Election Commission vide order dated 20.04.2012 (Annexure R-2/2) has directed the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, to conduct the general elections of the Municipal Corporations of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala on the basis of the latest electoral rolls to be prepared with reference to 01.01.2012, as the qualifying date on the basis of the electoral rolls of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioners has raised the following arguments:-

(i) That the elections have been ordered to be conducted without dissolution of the Municipal Corporation, the normal term of which is to be expired on 7th September, 2012 and that the new house is to assume office within 30 days of the election.

(ii) That there is increase in the population on the basis of Census of 2010-11. Therefore, the elections cannot be conducted without delimitation of the wards in terms of Clause 4 of the Orders. In the absence of such delimitation, the right of the inhabitants of the area of the Municipal Corporation to elect 75 Municipal candidates is defeated.

(iii) That without preparing the electoral rolls for the election to the Municipal Corporation on the basis of latest Census, the conduct of the election would be wholly illegal.

(iv) That reservation roster prepared on the basis of the last Census is not rational and logical which cannot be followed in the subsequent elections.

7. We have heard learned counsel