( 1 ) MR. Prem Lal Patel, the petitioner of this writ petition, has assailed the Ordinance No. 10 of 2000, by means of which certain amendments were made in the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Raj act. 1947, on the ground that the Ordinance is ultra vires to the provisions of Article 243-E (3) (a) of the Constitution of India which came into force on 24th April. 1993. by the Constitution (Seventy-third) Amendment Act, 1992. Before dealing with the vires of the Ordinance, it would be relevant to reproduce Article 243e of the Constitution of India. 243-E. Duration of Panchayats. etc.--[1] Every panachayat, unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer. (2) No amendment of any law for the time being in force shall have the effect of causing dissolution of a panchayat, at any level, which is functioning immediately before such amendment, till the expiration of its duration specified in clause (1 ). (3) An election to constitute a Panchayat shall be completed : (a) before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (1); (b) before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution : provided that where the remainder of the period for which the dissolved panchayat would have continued is less than six months, it shall not be necessary to hold any election under this clause for constituting the panchayat. (4) A panchayat constituted upon the dissolution of a panchayat before the expiration of its duration shall continue only for the remainder of the period for which the dissolved panchayat would have continued under clause (1) had it not been so dissolved.

( 2 ) THUS the proposition emerges out from a perusal of Article 243e, of the Constitution of India is that the maximum term for which a panchayat can function is five years from the date appointed for its first meeting which cannot be extended. The election to constitute a panchayat shall be completed before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (1) of Article 243e.

( 3 ) IT appears that the State of U. P. has issued the Ordinance under Entry 5. List-11, which empowers the Legislature of the State to make laws regarding local Government, that is to say, the Constitution and powers of Municipal Corporation, improvement trusts, district board, mining settlement authority and other local authorities for the purpose of local self-Government or village administration.

( 4 ) IN pursuance of the provisions of clause (3) of Article 348 of the Constitution, the Governor of u. P. ordered the publication of U. P. Panchayat Vidhi (Sanshodhan) Adhyadesh. 2000. It was promulgated and published in U. P. Extraordinary Gazette on 18th March, 2000. The Ordinance is reproduced below : chapter-I preliminary this Ordinance may be called the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000. Chapter-II amendment of the United Provinces Panchayat Raj Act, 1947. 1. In Section 12 of the United Provinces Panchayat Raj Act, 1947, hereinafter in this Chapter referred to as the Principal Act, after subsection (3), the following subsection shall be inserted, namely :

" (3a) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provisions of this Act, where, due to unavoidable circumstances or in public interest, it is not practicable to hold an election to constitute a Gram Panchayat before the expiry of its duration, the State Government or an officer authorised by it in this behalf may, by order, appoint an Administrative Committee consisting of such number of persons qualified to be elected as members of the Gram Panchayat, as it may consider proper or an Administrator and the members of the Administrative Committee or the administrator shall hold office for such period not exceeding six months as may be specified in the said order and all powers, functions and duties of the Gram Panchayat, its Pradhan and committees shall vest in and be exercised, perfo