ORDER :

GANNAMANENI RAMAKRISHNA PRASAD, J.

Heard Sri P. Veera Reddy, learned Senior Counsel representing Sri V. Venkata Naga Vishnu Teja, learned Counsel for the Writ Petitioners, Sri A. Sreekanth Reddy, learned Government Pleader for Respondent No.1, Sri B. Ramesh, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Respondent Nos.2 & 3, Sri G. Lakshmi Narayana, learned Standing Counsel for Respondent No.4 and Ms. Gandham Papa Kusuma, learned Counsel representing Sri Vijay Mathukumilli, learned Counsel for Respondent No.5.

2. The Prayer sought in the present Writ Petition is as under:

“For the reasons stated above, it is prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate Writ, order or direction mostly one which is in the nature of a Writ of Mandamus declaring the Memo No.2878186/G/2025, dt 24.11.2025 of the 1^st Respondent as illegal, irregular, arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair, unjustified and unsustainable and consequently direct the 1^st Respondent to forthwith issue the Notification for removal of the Chairperson from the office of the 4^th Respondent Municipality and to fill up the resultant vacancy in the same manner as a casual vacancy and pass such other order or orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.”

FACTS AS PROJECTED BY THE WRIT PETITIONERS:

3. The facts as projected by the Writ Petitioners (23 in number) are that about 23 Ward Members of Markapur Municipality (Respondent No.4) have submitted Form-I (Ex.P.2) by expressing 'No-confidence' against the Chairperson, Markapur Municipal Council (the Council), on 12.05.2025 (Ex.P.2); that, on verifying the signatures of the Signatories in Form-I and having been satisfied about the genuineness, Form-II was issued by Respondent No.2 to all the Members of the Council on 22.05.2025 proposing to convene a Council Meeting at 11:00 a.m. on 11.06.2025 in the Office of the Markapur Municipality (Respondent No.4); that, in this process, the Collector and District Magistrate, Prakasam District (Respondent No.2), had nominated the District Revenue Officer, Ongole (Respondent No.3), as the Presiding Officer to conduct the Meeting of the Municipal Council in accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965 (Act, 1965) and the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities (Motion of No-confidence in Chairperson/Vice-Chairperson) Rules, 2008; and that, on the scheduled date, i.e., on 11.06.2025, as there was no sufficient Quorum at 11:00 a.m., the Meeting was adjourned to 3:30 p.m. and was held on the same day as there was sufficient quorum (with 24 members), namely two-thirds of all the members entitled to vote.

4. It is the case of the Petitioners herein that there are 35 wards in Markapur Municipality and therefore the Council consists of 35 Ward Members and one Ex-officio Member (local MLA), thereby totaling to 36 Members who are eligible to vote; that it is stated that one of the Ward Members died and therefore the total number of Members eligible to vote are 35 members (i.e., 34 Ward Members and one Ex-officio Member); that 24 Members have attended the Meeting at 3:30 p.m., including the MLA of Markapur Constituency as Ex-officio Member; that the required quorum in terms of the Statute is 23; that, when the voting was conducted by Respondent No.3, instructing the Councillors to raise their hands in support of the No-confidence Motion, 19 Members have raised their hands, including the Ex-officio Member in favour of the Motion; and that, out of the total 24 Members who attended the Meeting on 11.06.2025, 5 Members, though physically present in the Meeting, did not raise their hands either in favour of or against the No-confidence Motion. Therefore, the Presiding Officer (Respondent No.3) had declared that 5 members have abstained from voting.

5. The facts would further indicate that the Presiding Officer/Respondent No.3, after counting the number of persons who raised their hands in favour of the motion, had issued Proceedings to the effect th