Back
2015 Supreme(P&H) 2172
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
HEMANT GUPTA, HARI PAL VERMA, JJ.
SOM PRAKASH AND OTHERS – Appellant
Vs.
STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS – Respondent
CWP No. 18459 of 2015(O&M)
Decided on : 14-10-2015
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant :Amit Jhanji, Advocate
Notifications constituting or abolishing a Municipality are legislative acts and cannot be challenged on administrative grounds.
Headnote:
Municipality - Challenge to notification declaring Gram Panchayat Radaur to be a Municipality in violation of Section 2-A of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 - Section 2-A, Section 7(1), Section 8 of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 - Summary: The court discussed the legislative nature of the notification constituting or abolishing a Municipality, emphasizing the distinction between legislative and administrative functions. It referred to previous judgments and held that such notifications are acts of legislation and cannot be impugned on grounds available for administrative or quasi-judicial orders.
Fact of the Case:
The writ petition challenged a notification declaring Gram Panchayat Radaur to be a Municipality in violation of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the notification constituting or abolishing a Municipality is a legislative act and cannot be impugned on administrative grounds.
Issues: Violation of Section 2-A of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 by the notification declaring Gram Panchayat Radaur to be a Municipality.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the legislative nature of notifications constituting or abolishing a Municipality and distinguished between legislative and administrative functions.
Final Decision: The writ petition was dismissed for lack of merit.
Hemant Gupta, J.
The challenge in the present writ petition is to the notification dated 19.06.2015 whereby Gram Panchayat Radaur was declared to be a Municipality by merging villages Chhotabans and Radaur, the said notification being in violation of Section 2-A of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 (for short 'the Act').
2. The petitioners are residents of village Radaur and voters of Gram Panchayat. The State Government has issued a notification dated 19.06.2015 constituting Municipality Radaur by merging Gram Panchayat of village Radaur and Chhotabans. It is pointed out that there was Municipal Committee Radaur from the year 1922 till 2000 when a notification was issued under Section 7(1) of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (for short "the Act") and Section 8 (1) of the Act abolishing the Municipal Committee Radaur and other Municipal Committees and in turn constituting Gram Panchayat. Subsequently, notification dated 28.03.2006 was issued constituting the Municipal Committee Radaur which was withdrawn on 21.09.2006.
3. A writ petition bearing CWP No. 17436 of 2006 titled Lila Krishan v. The State of Haryana and others, was filed challenging the abolishing of Municipal Committee. The said writ petition was dismissed on 18.02.2014 (Annexure P-8) wherein it was held that the issuance of a notification by the State Government under Section 8 of the Act is a legislative act in character. It was observed as under:-
"19. In the wake of the above, we unhesitatingly record that the power exercisable, under Section 8 of the 1973 Act, by the Government is not an exercise of a judicial or quashi-judicial function where the very nature of function involves the principles of natural justice or in any case of an administrative function effecting the rights of an individual. We are, therefore, of the view that the issuance of a notification by the State Government under Section 8 to abolish any Municipality declared under Section 3 is an act legislative in character in discharge of legislative functions, in context of the provisions of the Act. Thus could be termed as conditional legislation."
4. It is thereafter, the present notification has been issued which is subject matter of challenge in the present writ petition. Learned counsel for the petitioners refers to a Division Bench judgment of this Court in V.K. Kapoor and others v. State of Haryana and others, 2011(1) R.C.R. (Civil) 15, wherein challenge to the constitution of Municipal Corporation, Panchkula was set aside for the reason that the guidelines to constitute a Municipality was not adhered to. It may be stated that in an appeal against the said order before the Hon'ble Supreme Court, in Civil Appeal No. 7002-7004 of 2011 titled State of Haryana and others v. V.K. Kapoor and others, decided on 24.02.2015, the order passed by this Court has been found to be redundant. After observing so, the Court observed that the observations in the order will not affect the pendency of other cases on similar issues. The order reads as under:-
"1. Constitution of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation by merging certain Municipal Bodies as well as the Gram Panchayats was challenged before the High Court. The High Court accepted the challenge. Resultantly, these appeals have been filed wherein an interim order was passed staying the operation of the order of the High Court. Pursuant to the said interim order of this Court, the constitution of the Municipal Corporation was re-notified and, furthermore, elections to the said body were held in June 2013. It is not in dispute that some of the respondents, who were the writ petitioners before the High Court, had participated in the election and some of them are stated to have been elected as Members and are accordingly functioning as the Councillors of the Municipal Corporation.
2. As an elected body has come into place in which some of the aggrieved writ petitioners themselves are members we are of the view that, regardless of the question(s) of la
