- (1.) THE order in this case will also govern the disposal of M. Ps. 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(2.) BY these petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have challenged the validity of certain provisions of the M. P. Panchayat Adhiniyam, 1981 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) as amended by the M. P. Panchayat (Sanshodhan) Adhiniyam, 1988 (Act No. 26 of 1988), (hereinafter referred to as the Amending Act) and the Rules framed thereunder.
(3.) BEFORE we proceed to appreciate the contentions advanced on behalf of the petitioners, it will be useful to refer to the relevant provisions of the M. P. Panchayat Act, 1981, as amended by the M. P. Panchayat (Sanshodhan)Adhiniyam, 1988. Section 3 of the Act provides that there shall be established a gram Panchayat for the village or group of villages, a Janpad Panchayat for a block forming part of a district and a Zilla Panchayat for a District. Section 7 of the Act provides that each Gram Panchayat area shall be divided into not less than 10 wards as may be determined by the Collector and that each ward shall be a single ward. Section 11 of the Act, prior to its amendment, provided that every gram Panchayat shall consist of Panchas elected from the wards and Panchas co-opted in the manner prescribed. Section 11 has been amended by the amending Act and now it provides that every Gram Panchayat shall consist of panchas elected from the wards, elected Sarpanchas and Panchas co-opted, if any, as provided by that section. Sub-section (4) of section 1 i of the Act provided for reservation of certain seats of Panchas for persons belonging to Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes, but there was no provision for reservation of seats for women. By the Amending Act, a provision for reservation of seats for women has been made by sub-section (3) of section 11 of the Act which reads as follows : - "out of total number of wards of the Gram Panchayat, twenty per cent wards, subject to minimum of two shall be reserved for women. For the purpose of such reservation, the Collector shall - (i) Work out the percentage of women voters of each ward in relation to total number of such ward; (ii) arrange the wards in order of percentage of women voters in descending order; and (iii) reserve the required number of wards subject to minimum of two in order of percentage as arranged under (ii) above : provided that in the event of the percentage of women voters being equal in wards more than two, the ward to be reserved for women shall be determined by drawing lot by the Collector. " Section 15 of the Act which provided for election of Sarpanch by the Panchas, has now been substituted by a provision which provides for direct election of a sarpanch. Sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 15 which are material for the purpose of these petitions, are as follows : "15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2 ). The State Government shall, taking into account the population of the persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the State and the density of population of the such castes and tribes in different areas of the State, by notification, reserve the seats of sarpanchas of the Gram Panchayats for them. (3 ). Ten percent of seats of Sarpanchas of Gram Panchayats of janapada Panchayat area shall be reserved for women. For the purpose of such reservation, the Collector shall - (i) work out the percentage of female population of each Gram panchayat in relation to total population of such Gram Panchayat; (ii) arrange the Gram Panchayats in order of percentage of female population in descending order; and (iii) reserve the required number of Gram Panchayats in order of percentage as arranged under (ii) above : provided that in the event of the percentage of female population being equal in Gram Panchayats more than two, the Gram Panchayat to be reserved for women shall be determined by drawing lot by the Collector. Explanation - For the purpose of this sub-section, the word 'population' means the preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published. " Sections 22 and 23 of the Act relating to election of members and President of janapad Panchayats and section 27 of the Act relating to election of Chairmen of zilla Panchayats contained provisions for reservation of seats for Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes. By the Amending Act, provision has now also been made for reservation for seats for women.;