The court established the authority of the District Election Officer to seek services for Panchayat Elections under the Representation of People's Act and the Panchayat Raj Act.

JUDGMENT :

The petitioner in the present petition has prayed for the following reliefs:-

“(i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the impugned communication issued by respondent no. 2 to the bank employees for performing election in the three Tier Election one of the appointment letter dated 03.09.2022 (contained as Annexure No. 1 to this writ petition).

(ii) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding and directing the respondent no. 3 to withdraw appointment orders/letters pursuant to three Tier Panchayat General Election 2022 in Haridwar issued by District Election Officer; whereby a total 377 employees of Punjab National Bank has been appointed for Panchayat Election duty.

(iii) Pass any other writ, order or direction, which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.”

2. In principle, the challenge is given to the communication of 03.09.2022, as it was passed by the District Magistrate/District Election Officer, whereby, the services of the employees of the State Bank of India has been sought to be utilized for the purposes of conduct of three-tier Panchayat Elections of 2022. The Constitution of Panchayats is envisaged by the constitutional mandate, as it has been incorporated by the Constitution 73rd amendment enforced with effect from 24.04.1993, resulting into an insertion of part IX of the Constitution. Under article 243(d), it defines “Panchayat”. The Panchayats herein under the Constitution, would mean the Panchayats which are a body of local self-government constituted under Article 243 B. Article 243-B of the Constitution of India is referred to hereunder:-

“243B. Constitution of Panchayats

(1) There shall be constituted in every State, Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels in accordance with the provisions of this Part

(2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), Panchayats at the intermediate level may not be constituted in a State having a population not exceeding twenty lakhs”

3. It is inclusive of Panchayats at different intermediary levels i.e. Village, Districts and Taluka levels. The election of the Panchayats are regulated by the provisions contained under Uttarakhand Panchayat Raj Act of 2016 and particularly, in accordance with the provisions contained under section 131 of Chapter 25 of the Act of 2016, the elections of the Panchayat, as substituted in its applicability, by the amendment made by Notification No. 152/XXXVI dated 10.06.2020. It provides that all the subjects related to the process of election of Panchayats would be governed by, under the supervision and control of “State Election Commission and the District Magistrate”, who shall supervise and conduct all the elections of Chairman and Vice-Chairman and even of the Members of Panchayats in the Districts.

4. The State Election Commission who has been made responsible for conduct of the election of Panchayats, would mean a body which stands constituted under the provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act, which provides for the constitution of the “State Election Commission”, which is a body constituted for the purposes of conducting the election of the Panchayats and such other bodies, which are to be regulated by the State Election Commission.

5. The representation of People's Act of 1950, which has to be read with the provisions contained under the Representation of Peoples Act of 1951, defines the District Election Officer which would mean an officer designated under Section 13A of the Representation of the Peoples Act of 1950. The “State Election Commission”, as per the provisions of the Act of 1951 would be a body constituted under the Act for the purposes of conduct of election of various levels of Panchayats as provided under Article 243-B of the Constitution of India.

6. The petitioner has agitated his grievances in the present writ petition, as against the impugned order dated 03.09.2022, which was passed by respond