The judgment establishes the mandatory nature of the publication requirement for proposals under the Panchayat Act and emphasizes the need for compliance with statutory provisions and rules in the dissolution and inclusion of Gram Panchayats.

1. The petitioner before this Court, Gram Panchayat, has filed this present writ petition being aggrieved by the action of respondent State in issuing the Notification date 30/12/2012 by which the Gram Panchayat Meghnagar, Distt. Jhabua has been dissolved and the area has been included under the Municipal Council, Meghnagar. Petitioner has raised various grounds before this court and his contention is that the respondents have not followed the prescribed procedure as provided u/s. 5 and 5A of the M.P. Municipalities Act, 1961. At the outset, learned counsel for the petitioner has argued before this court that the controversy involved in the present case stands concluded by a judgment delivered in the case of Gram Panchayat, Padlyakhurd and others Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh and others (WP No. 910 / 2012), decided on 16/3/2012.

2. A reply has been filed in the matter and the stand of the respondent State is that the impugned Notification has been issued by the Collector dissolving the Gram Panchayat on 30/12/2011 after following the prescribed procedure in terms of Sec. 5 of the Municipalities Act, 1961 the Gram Panchayat has rightly been dissolved. However, the respondents have not filed nor brought to the notice of this Court any Notification issued u/s. 5A of the Act of 1961 except for making a bald statement in the return. An intervention application has also been filed and it has been stated that the prescribed procedure has been followed, however, again along with intervention application there is no such Notification by which objections were invited at any point of time before dissolving the Gram Panchayat. An objection has also been raised by the learned counsel for the intervenor that the petition by the Gram Panchayat is not maintainable in the light of the judgment delivered by this court in the case of Gram Panchayat, Bamrol Vs. Jagdish Singh Rawat reported in 2008 (3) MPLJ 127 as no resolution has been enclosed along with the writ petition.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner, to the objection raised by the intervenor, has argued before this court that a resolution was certainly passed and as the entire record has been seized by the State Government, the petitioner was not in a position to enclose the resolution, however, they have filed documents on 19/4/12 and the same has been signed by all the panchas by which Mr. Suleman, Dy. Sarpanch has been empowered to file this present writ petition on behalf of the Gram Panchayat and, therefore, the objection raised by the intervenor stands over ruled.

This Court in the case of Gram Panchayat Padlyakhurd & others Vs. State of MP and others (W.P.No. 910 / 2012) in para 6 to 23 has held as under :

6. The first objection of the petitioners is that in terms of Article 243Q of the Constitution and subsection 2 of Section 5 of the Municipalities Act, 1961 prior to the issuance of the impugned notification Annexure P/1, a separate notification was required to be issued specifying the transitional area.

7. Article 243Q of the Constitution of India relating to constitution of municipalities provides as under:

“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 the 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