S.B. Majmudar, J. - (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) By consent of learned advocates of parties the appeal was finally heard and is being disposed of by this judgment. The contesting parties are appellant on the one hand and Respondent No.1 on the other. Both belong to Scheduled Castes. Their claim is centered round the chair of President of the Municipal Committee, Loharu in Haryana State. The grievance of the appellant against the order of the High Court in favour of respondent No. 1 can be better appreciated after looking at the relevant introductory facts.
(3.) The appellant as well as Respondent No.1 are Scheduled Castes women. Elections were held to Loharu Municipal Committee. For the purpose of election of members of the committee, Loharu Municipal area is divided into 11 wards. Out of these 11 wards three wards, namely, ward Nos. 1,4 and 5 were reserved for members belonging to Scheduled Castes. Out of these three wards, ward No. 5 was reserved for the Scheduled Castes women and ward No. 2 was reserved for backward classes. Apart from the aforesaid reservations, ward Nos. 8. 10 and 11 were reserved for General women. Elections to Loharu Municipal Committee were held on 28th December 1994 under the provisions of Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 (the Act for short). In the said elections the appellant was elected from ward No. 5 reserved for Scheduled Castes women while Respondent No. 1 was declared elected from ward No.11 which was reserved for General women. After the said elections were over question arose about the election of President of the said Municipal Committee. As per Section 10 sub-section (5) of the Act the offices of the President in the municipalities shall be filled up from amongst the members belonging to General category, Scheduled Castes, backward classes and women by rotation and by lots in the manner prescribed. Rule 70 sub-rule (4) of Haryana Municipal Election Rules, 1978 (Election Rules for short) prescribes the manner in which the election to the office of President of municipality could be held. The local Government Department of Haryana vide its notification dated 20th January 1995 declared in terms of Rule 70 (4) of the Election Rules that the seat of president. Municipal Committee, Loharu, inter alia, shall be filled up from amongst the members belonging to Scheduled Castes category. The said rule reads as under: "70 (4). The offices of the presidents in the municipalities shall be filled up from amongst the members belonging to the general category, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and women by rotation which will be determined in the manner as detailed below: Provided that the number of offices of the presidents reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes in the State shall bear as may be the same proportion to the total number of such offices of the municipalities as the population of the Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes in the State bears to the total population of the State: Provided further that not less than one-third of the total number of offices of the President in the municipalities shall be reserved for women including the offices reserved for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes women. The reservation of offices for women shall rotate to different municipalities which will be determined by draw of lots, by a committee consisting of the Director, Local Bodies and Deputy Commissioners of the districts concerned or their nominee. If women of the reserved category are not available, then the office of the president shall be filled up from the male member of the said reserved category: Provided further that the number of offices of the president for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes shall be determined on basis of their population and shall rotate to different municipalities firstly, having largest population of Scheduled Castes, secondly, from the remaining Municipalities having largest population of Backward Classes and they rotate in the subsequent terms of offices of the municipalities having their next largest population and so on. In case percentage of population of two Municipal Committees or Municipal Councils as regard Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes is the same the reservation will be determined by draw of lots to be conducted by a committee consisting of Director, Local Bodies and Deputy Commissioner of district concerned or his nominee; Provided further that in case of office of the Municipal Council reserved for Backward Classes, the President shall be elected from amongst the members belonging to the Backward Classes and in case of Municipal Committee, the member of Backward Class shall be deemed to be elected as president of the Municipality reserved for the Backward Classes." The Respondent No. 1 contended that as she was also an elected member belonging to Scheduled Castes women category, she was entitled to contest for the presidentship of the Municipality.In view of this claim of Respondent N0. 1 the local Government Department of Haryana Government vide is order dated 11th February 1995 issued under Section 278 of the Act clarified that where there is a single member of Scheduled Caste category (man or woman) in a municipality elected from the Ward reserved and the Office of President is to be filled up from amongst the members belonging to Scheduled Caste Category, such single member (man or women) belonging to Scheduled Caste Category shall be deemed to have been elected as President of such Municipality in the same manner as is provided for the members belonging to the Backward Classes under sub-rule (4) of Rule of the Election Rules. This clarification put Respondent No. 1 out of contest for the presidentship as she was elected member of the Municipal Committee not on a Scheduled Castes seat but on a seat available to General category women. Consequently, Respondent No. 1 filed a writ petition in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana for quashing the aforesaid Government Order dated 11th February 1995 and for a direction to admit her as a candidate to contest for the aforesaid office of President, Municipal Committee, Loharu. Pending this writ petition, the Local Government Department, Haryana Government vide its notification dated 25th May 1995 appointed the appellant as President, Municipal Committee, Loharu as according to the State Government the post of President was by rotation reserved for a member who was elected in the category of Scheduled Castes women and as Respondent No. 1 did not belong to the said category there was only solitary candidate, namely, the appellant for presidentship and that is how she was appointed as President of Municipal Committee, Loharu subject to the decision of the writ petition of Respondent No. 1.;