R.A.SHARMA,J. - (1.) Petitioners, who are members of Municipal Board, Deoband, Saharanpur (hereinafter referred to as the Board), have filed this writ petition challenging the resolution dated 15-2-1992, whereby a committee known as 'Devi Kund Fair Committee' of five members has been appointed by the Board.
(2.) Parties have exchanged the affidavits and we have heard the learned counsel for the parties. The grievance of the petitioners is that the members of the committee constituted by the Board by Regulation can be elected by single transferable vote in accordance with method prescribed by clause (b) of Sub-Section (1) of S. 104 of U. P. Municipalities Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act); but in the instant case the appointment of the members of the committee has been made in contravention of the aforesaid provision. Learned counsel for the respondents has defended the impugned resolution on two grounds; firstly, the appointments of the members of only seven committees, reference of which have been made at page 135 of the Manual containing Regulation of the Board, are required to be made in accordance with Sec. 104 and as Devi Kund Fair Committee" is not one of those 7 committees, appointment of its members need not be made in accordance with Sec. 104, and secondly, the petitioners being members of the Board, they should have raised objection in the meeting of the Board in which the appointment of members of the committee in question was made and it was open to them to propose any other name for election; and not having done so, they cannot raise their grievance in the writ petition before this Court. We agree with the learned counsel for the petitioner.
(3.) S. 104 of the Act, which provides for appointment of committee of the Board, so far as it is relevant is reproduced below : "104. Appointment of Committees. - (1) Board may (and where so required by the State Government shall) - (a) by regulation establish such committees as it thinks fit, (or as the State Government) may direct) for the purpose of exercising such powers, performing such duties or discharging such functions as may be delegated to a committee under S. 112, and (b) by single transferable vote elect such of its members as it thinks fit for a period not exceeding one year to any committee so established, in accordance with the method prescribed in the Regulations made by the (Chairman) of the Legislative Council of Uttar Pradesh in pursuance of Orders 82 and 87 of the Standing Orders for the conduct of business and procedure to be followed in the Legislative Council and dated 15/03/1921, the words 'the President' and 'the Council occurring, in the said Regulations being for purposes of this clause read as (President of the Board and "Board" respectively, provided that the State Government may from time to time as it thinks fit amend the said Regulations for the purposes of this clause; and) (c) by resolution remove any member (elected) under Clause (b)." Regulation 16, which has been printed at page 135 of the manual referred to hereinbefore, lays down that, "there shall ordinarily be 7 committees or so of the Board", and thereafter names of 7 Committees have been mentioned therein. This regulation does not limit the number of the committee of the Board. It only says that ordinarily there shall be 7 Committees. The Board has framed separate regulations known as Devi Kund Fair Committee's Regulations, which have been printed in the same manual, and this committee is in addition to the 7 Committees mentioned in Regulation 16. The committee in question is one of the committees which has been constituted by the Regulation by the Board and members of which are to be elected in accordance with Clause (b) of Sub-Section (1) of Section 104 of the Act. Provisions of S. 104 being mandatory, it is not open to the Board to elect members of any committees except by a single transferable vote in accordance with the method prescribed by clause (b) of Sub-Section (1) of Section 104. Method for election prescribed by clause (b) is the same, which has been prescribed in the Regulations made by the Chairman of the Legislative Council of Uttar Pradesh in pursuance of Orders 82 and 87 of the Standing Orders for the conduct of business and procedure to be followed in the Legislative Council. The first submission of the learned counsel for the respondents is devoid of force and is rejected.;