Sital Singh And Another vs State Of Punjab And Others on 11 December, 2009

     IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
                       CHANDIGARH

                               Civil Writ Petition No.8219 of 2009
                               Date of decision:11.12.2009

Sital Singh and another                                   ....Petitioners


                               versus


State of Punjab and others                               ...Respondents



CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN
                               ----

Present:    Mr. H.S.Kamboj, Advocate, for the petitioners.

            Ms. Monica Chhibbar Sharma, Deputy Advocate General,
            Punjab.
                           ----

1.   Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the
     judgment ? Yes.
2.   To be referred to the reporters or not ? Yes.
3.   Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? Yes.
                               ----
K.Kannan, J. (Oral)

1. The petition seeks for quashing of an order passed by the

1st respondent on 02.05.2008, considering the representation of the

petitioner seeking for establishment of a separate Gram Panchayat for

Village Machhi Joya after excluding the same from Gram Panchayat

Mulakala. The order came to be passed on previous direction issued by

this Court in Civil Writ Petition No.6211 of 2008 to consider the

representation of the petitioners. The representation was on the basis of

report given by the District Development and Panchayat Officer,

Kapurthala stating that the population of Machhi Joya was 614 and the

Executive Officer, Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi had also stated
Civil Writ Petition No.8219 of 2009 -2-

that as per the official records, though no separate census report

regarding the Village Machhi Joya was made, it was constituted in Ward

No.1 of the Municipal Council of Sultanpur Lodhi and as per the official

records, Ward No.1 comprised of 490 Males and 406 females and the

total population was 896. This was the basis for the contention of the

petitioner to state that the Village Machhi Joya was required to be

notified as a separate village panchayat.

2. On a statement filed by the 1st respondent denying the

population statistics as given in the report of the Executive Officer,

Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi and the BDPO, Sultanpur Lodhi,

this Court had called upon an additional affidavit to be filed by the

Director, Rural Development and Panchayats. He has reaffirmed the

statistics which were to be the basis for formation of panchayats, with

reference to the provisions of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, was the

“population” as defined under Section 2 (zn) and it shall be a rural

population as ascertained in the last preceding census of which the

relevant figures have been published. Along with the affidavit, he has

given the published information of the census of India, 2001 referring to

Machhi Joya as comprising of a population of 100. The Act sets out the

basis for establishment of Gram Sabhas and Gram Panchayats in Section

3 and it shall not be possible for a Court to look beyond how an

establishment of Gram Panchayat could be made. If the population as

required in the census shall be taken as relevant for establishment of a

village panchayat, it shall not be possible to discard the census report and

go by what the Executive Officer states through a certificate or what a
Civil Writ Petition No.8219 of 2009 -3-

Block Development Officer enters in a proforma prescribed. The learned

counsel is unable to state on what basis the proforma is filled up, which

has been filed along with the writ petition or for what purpose the details

in the proforma have been collected. The purpose again becomes

relevant for it shall be only used for the purpose for which the data could

be used. There is really no authenticity to the datas shown in the Block

Development Officer’s report or the Executive Officer’s letter dated

13.01.2008.

3. It is pointed out by the learned counsel for the State that on

the basis of the population statistics and the constitution of the

panchayats, election has also been held and all the villages of Machhi

Joya have participated as members of the Panchayat in Mulakala. The

writ petitions seeking for relief of constitution of a Gram Panchayat

cannot be a matter of a judicial function at all. It shall be done only under

the provisions of Act by authorities constituted under the Act and if a

decision has been taken by the 1st respondent on due verification of the

official records which he is bound to verify, there shall be no occasion

for Court’s intervention. The writ petition is dismissed.

                                                            (K.KANNAN)
11.12.2009                                                     JUDGE
sanjeev