SANT SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SUB tehsil Amloh was a part of tehsil Sirhind of district Patiala. Later on, it was transferred to tehsil Nabha of the same district. Notification regarding demarcation of the Sabha areas under Section 4 of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 (hereinafter called the Act), had been issued in respect of the Gram Panchayats of Amloh sub-tehsil when it was a part of tehsil Sirhind. Fresh elections to the Gram Panchayat, Lallon Khurd, were challenged in this petition, which came up before me in the Chambers, on the ground that the name of this Gram Sabha was not mentioned in the notification regarding the constitution of Gram Sabhas in tehsil Nabha. It was submitted that before elections could be held, a notification under Section 4 of the Act demarcating the Sabha area had to be issued. Reliance in this connection was placed on a judgment rendered by my learned brother C. G. Suri, J. in Balwant Singh etc. v. The State of Punjab etc. , 1973 Cur LJ 238. On behalf of the respondents, my attention was drawn to a Gazette Notification dated September 20, 1960, published by the State Government duly constituting Lallon Khurd as a Gram Sabha. This notification had not been brought to the notice of Suri, J. when he decided Balwant Singh's case (supra), In these circumstances, I requested my Lord the Chief Justice to constitute a Division Bench tor the decision of this case. Presumably, because of the large number of cases in which elections had been challenged on similar grounds, my Lord the Chief Justice ordered this case to be heard by a Full Bench. This is how this reference has come up before us.

(2.) IN the instant case, the election of respondents Nos. 5 to 10, who have been elected to the Executive Committee of the Gram Panchayat, Lallon Khurd, has been challenged. The jurisdiction of this Gram Panchayat extends to villages Lallon Khurd and Dewa Gandhuan. The Gram Panchayat was initially constituted by a notification issued by the State Government on September 20, 1960. This notification reads as under: -" No EP-P-S-60/361: In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-section (1) of Section 4, Sub-section (1) of Section 5 and subsection (1) of Section 6 of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 (Act No. IV of 1953), read with Punjab Government Development and Panchayat Department Notification No. PLB-24 (2)-60/70610, dated 13th August, 1960. I hereby declare each of the villages or groups of villages specified in column 2 against each serial number mentioned in column 1, of the schedule given below to constitute a Sabha Area and to establish for each Sabha area a Gram Sabha by the name mentioned in column 5, the Executive Committee whereof shall consist of such number of persons including the Sarpanch as are specified against each in column 6 of the aforesaid schedule:- (See Schedule on next page)3. At the time when this notification was issued, these two villages fell within the area of sub-tehsil Amloh, which was part of tehsil Sirhind. Later on, sub-tehsil Amloh as a whole was made a part of tehsil Nabha and there is no controversy on this point.

(3.) THE jurisdiction of the newly constituted Gram Panchayat was confined to village Lallon Khurd only. The Executive Committee of this Gram Sabha was to consist of five members out of which one was to be a member of the scheduled castes. It would be worthwhile to mention here that this notification related to tehsil Sirhind of Paliala district. It has been explained in the return filed on behalf of respondent No, 2 that the Development Department over-looked the fact that the entire sub tehsil Amloh, which was formerly part of tehsil Sirhind, had been transferred to tehsil Nabha.