Point of Law: If two views are possible, the view taken by the competent authority/Executive will not be upset on the ground that the Court thinks that the other (better) view ought to have been taken.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Sanjeev Singh, Sri Pramod Kumar Srivastava, Sri Rama Shanker Mishra learned Advocates for the petitioners, Sri Manish Goel learned Additional Advocate General assisted by Sri A.K. Goel learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the State-respondents, Sri Madan Mohan Srivastava learned Advocate for the Nagar Palika Parishad and perused the record.

2. By means of the abovenoted writ petitions, the petitioners seek for quashing of the notification dated 26.10.2016 issued under Section 4 of the Uttar Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1916 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act, 1916”); alongwith the decision for rejection of their objections dated 13.1.2017 as also the final notification issued under sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Act, 1916.

Further prayer is to issue a mandamus commanding the respondents not to treat the Nagar Panchayat Bharwari, Kaushambi as upgraded Nagar Palika Parishad, Bharwari, Kaushambi as the conditions of the Government Order dated 10.11.2014 had not been met while issuing the final notification under Section 3(2) of the Act, 1916.

The petitioners herein (in both the writ petitions) are mostly Gram Pradhans of the respective Village Panchayat and some are villagers of different villages.

3. The challenge to the notification for upgradation of the Nagar Panchayat to Nagar Palika Parishad is based on the plea of violation of the mandatory conditions of the Government Order dated 10.11.2014.

4. It is argued by Sri Sanjeev Singh, Sri Pramod Kumar Srivastava and Sri Rama Shanker Mishra learned Advocates for the petitioners that the Government Order dated 10th November, 2014 had been issued for laying down the criteria for categorization of the Nagar Palika Parishads as well as for upgradation of the Nagar Panchayats to Nagar Palika Parishads. In Para 3(Ka)' of the Government Order, three categories of Nagar Palika Parishads had been provided with the condition for their categorization based on the Annual income, population and density of population per square kilometer of the concerned local body (Nagar Palika Parishad).

The table in Para 3(Kha)' has been placed before us to assert that the decision for upgradation of a Nagar Panchayat to Nagar Palika Parishad would require fulfillment of the criterias in the above noted Para 3' of the Government Order. For determination of the population/density of population, Census of the year 2011 was to be taken into consideration as per Para 5' of the Government Order dated 10.11.2014. As per the aforesaid table provided in Para 3(Ka)' of the Government Order dated 10.11.2014, for category 'III', (which is applicable in the matter of the Nagar Panchayat Bharwari), the minimum yearly income as required was Rs. 60 Lacs to Rs. 1.75 crores and the minimum population criteria was more than 1 Lac and less than 1.50 Lacs whereas the density of the population was minimum 6266 per square kilometer. The upgradation of the Nagar Panchayat to that of the Nagar Palika Parishad could be done only on fulfillment of the above criterias and not otherwise.

It is contended that on a R.T.I. information dated 16.9.2017 received by one person Sri Shankar Lal, it was reflected that the receipt of the Nagar Panchayat, i.e. yearly income of the Nagar Panchayat Bharwari was only Rs.25,17,140/- for the financial year 2014-15, Rs.30,23,201/- for the financial year 2015-16 and Rs.23,09,957/- for the financial year 2016-17. As regards the population, as per the census of the year 2011, the population of the Nagar Panchayat Bharwari was only 98352, less than 1 Lac. As per the final notification dated 1.9.2017 itself, the total area of the Nagar Palika Parishad being 7422.5805 hectares, the density of the population as per census of the year 2011, would be 1325 persons per square kilometers which further supports that the criteria determined in the Government Order dated 10th November, 2014 were not fulfilled. It is then contended that even if, the total population of the Nagar Panchay