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2007 DIGILAW 505 (KAR)

BHIMAPPA v. STATE OF KARNATAKA

2007-08-13

B.S.PATIL

body2007
ORDER In this writ petition, petitioner is challenging the notification dated 8-12-2006 issued by the Deputy Commissioner, Bijapur-the 2nd respondent herein vide Annexure-C insofar as it relates to reservation for the posts of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha of Jigajeevani Gram Panchayat. 2. Petitioner claims to be an elected Member of the 4th respondent-Gram Panchayat and, has been elected as Adhyaksha of the Jigajeevani Gram Panchayat in the elections held on 28-3-2005. Petitioner belongs to the general category. 3. By the impugned notification-Annexure-C, the post of Adhyaksha is reserved in favour of Backward Class 'A' (Women). Petitioner is aggrieved by the reservation made to the post of Adhyaksha in the 4th respondent-Gram Panchayat in favour of Backward Class 'A' (Women). 4. Learned Counsel for the petitioner contends that as per Section 44(2) of the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 (for short, the Ace), the rotation for reservation is permissible for every five years and not before the completion of the term of five years. Drawing the attention of the Court to the third proviso to Section 44(2) of the Act, Counsel submits that the offices reserved under Section 44(2) of the Act shall have to be allotted by rotation to different Gram Panchayats which means that the allotment has to be commensurate with the duration of the term of the Members which is five years. In other words, the contention of the petitioner is that as he is elected as a Member of the Gram Panchayat in the year 2005 and has been elected as Adhyaksha on 28-3-2005 under the general category, for the next five years the Gram Panchayat shall have to have an Adhyaksha from the general category alone. 5. Learned Government Pleader who has taken notice for respondents 1 and 2, placing reliance on Section 46 of the Act contends that the term of office of every Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha of the Gram Panchayat is statutorily fixed at 30 months from the date of his/her election or till he/she ceases to be a Member of the Gram Panchayat whichever is earlier, and after the expiry of the term, the post of Adhyaksha has to be reserved in accordance with the requirement of Section 44 of the Act on rotation. He submits that if the 3rd proviso to Section 44 of the Act is read with Section 46 of the Act, keeping in mind the term of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha, rotation has to be commensurate with the duration of the term of the Adhyaksha and not with the duration of the term of the Member. 6. Having heard the learned Counsel for the parties and upon perusal of the materials on record, it is clear from Section 46 of the Act, that the term of the Adhyaksha and the Upadhyaksha of the Gram Panchayat is statutorily fixed as 30 months from the date of his/her election. The rotation of the reservation for the post of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha, as provided under Section 44(2) of the Act between different categories, has to be necessarily read keeping in mind the term of office of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha as/provided under Section 46 of the Act. The idea behind fixing a shorter term for the Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha as compared to the duration of the term of the Members is to provide opportunities not only to different Members to contest for the post of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha but also to provide opportunities to members belonging to different categories to contest. The intention is to rotate opportunities to different reserved categories to ensure that at the grass root level the power is shared by all sections, so that all sections of the society effectively participate in the local self-governance. Therefore, viewed in this background, the contention of the learned Counsel for the petitioner urging that the reservation made can only be rotated after the expiry of the period of five years cannot be accepted. A conjoint reading of Sections 44 and 46 of the Act, keeping in mind the whole object behind the purpose of reserving the post of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha in the Grama Panchayats for various categories and its rotation among different categories clearly shows that the rotation between different categories has to be commensurate with the term of office of the Adhyaksha. Hence, I find no merits in the contentions urged by the petitioner. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed.