JUDGMENT :

Manoj Kumar Gupta, J.

The petitioners are elected Pradhans of Gram Panchayat Bhaiswali, Sansaarpur, Sidhwapaar, Kodhari, Bailey and Kalyanpur. They have called in question notifications dated 12.12.2020, 22.7.2022 and 10.8.2022 (all issued by respondent No. 2).

2. The notification dated 12.12.2020 was a draft of a proposal intended to be issued by the Governor in exercise of powers under clause (2) of Article 243-Q of the Constitution of India, read with sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the U.P. Municipalities Act, 1916 and in partial modification of previous notification dated 16th March, 1875 and other notifications issued in this behalf for inclusion of ten villages in the transitional area of Nagar Panchayat, Badahalganj, Gorakhpur. The draft proposal was notified in order to ensure compliance of Section 4 of the U.P. Municipalities Act, 1916 which is as follows :

''4. Preliminary procedure to issue notification.-(1) Before the issue of a notification referred to in Section 3, the Governor shall publish in the Official Gazette and in a paper approved by it for purposes of publication of public notices, published in the district or, if there is no such paper in the district, in the division in which the local area covered by the notification is situate and cause to be affixed at the office of the District Magistrate and at one or more conspicuous places within or adjacent to the local area concerned a draft in Hindi or the proposed notification alongwith a notice stating that the draft will be taken into consideration on the expiry of the period as may be stated in the notice.

(2) The Governor shall, before issuing the notification consider any objection or suggestion in writing which it receives from any person, in respect of the draft within the period stated.''

3. Section 3 of the U.P. Municipalities Act, 1916, which is also relevant for deciding the controversy, reads as follows :

''3. Declaration etc. of transitional area and smaller urban area.-(1) Any area specified by the Governor in a notification under clause (2) of Article 243-Q of the Constitution with such limits as are specified therein to be a transitional area or a smaller urban area, as the case may be.

(2) The Governor may, by a subsequent notification under clause (2) of Article 243-Q of the Constitution, include or exclude any area in or from a transitional area or a smaller urban area referred to in sub-section (1), as the case may be.

(3) The notifications referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2) shall be subject to the condition of the notification being issued after the previous publication required by Section 4 and notwithstanding anything in this section, no area which is, or is part of, a cantonment shall be declared to be a transitional area or a smaller urban area or be included therein under this section.

4. Article 243Q of the Constitution which confers power to the Governor to include or exclude any area, as well as power to constitute a Nagar Panchayat, a Municipal Council, or a Municipal Corporation, reads thus :

''243Q. Constitution of Municipalities.-

(1) There shall be constituted in every State,-

(a) a Nagar Panchayat by whatever name called for a transitional area, that is to say, an area in transition from a rural area to an urban area.

(b) a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area; and

(c) a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area, in accordance with the provisions of this Part:

Provided that a Municipality under this clause may not be constituted in such urban area or part thereof as the Governor may, having regard to the size of tile area and the municipal services being provided or proposed to be provided by an industrial establishment in that area and such other factors as he may deem fit, by public notification, specify to be an industrial township.

(2) In this article, 'a transitional area', 'a smaller urban area' or 'a larger urban area' means such area as the Governor may, having regard to the population of the area, the den