AMRESHWAR PRATAP SAHI, J. - (1.) THESE three writ petitions in the nature of public interest litigation have been filed, one by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) through its organising Secretary of the U.P. Chapter, the other by one Sri Abdul Jabbar an advocate of the Civil Court Mathura and the third by an organisation known as U.P. State Coordination Committee of NAPM praying for declaring Rule 4(2) of the Uttar Pradesh Municipalities (Election of Members, Corporators, Chairmen and Mayors) Rules, 2010 as ultra vires the provisions of the Constitution and also ultra vires to the provisions of the U.P. Municipalities Act, 1916 and the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act, 1959.
(2.) WE may at the outset quote Rule 4 of the said rules in order to project an understanding of the issue that has been raised on behalf of the petitioners. "Rule 4. (1) The superintendence, direction and control of the conduct of the election of the corporators, members, chairmen and mayors or municipalities conducted in accordance with provisions of these rules. (2) The election to the post of members, corporator chairperson and mayor of the municipalities shall not be contested on the basis of political parties." The issue raised is therefore confined to elections of the Municipal Corporations and Municipalities which are institutions of self-governance at the Urban Level. The elections to the office of Corporators and Chairpersons are held under the provisions of the aforesaid two acts and in order to give effect to the said provisions, rules have been framed as referred to hereinabove.
(3.) IT is undisputed that no such provision was earlier existing either in the Act or in the rules, preventing the participation of candidates of political parties in relation to elections of the Municipal Corporations or Municipalities. The introduction of Sub Rule (2) of Rule 4 declaring that the election to the post of members, corporators, chairpersons and mayors shall not be contested on the basis of political parties, has led to the filing of these writ petitions, seriously contending that participative democracy, which is the essence of the fundamental rights of the citizens guaranteed under the Constitution, shall be jeopardised and such a provision is constitutionally invalid as it violates the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19(1)(c) read with Article 19(4) of the Constitution of India. It also violates the provisions of autonomy as entrusted to the municipalities under Part IX-A of the Constitution.;