Shankar Ram, Rajkumar Choudhary, Awadh Kumar Ram and Lal Bahadur Choudhary vs The State of Bihar, The District Collector, Bhojpur at Arrah, The District Panchayat Officer, Bhojpur at Arrah and The Block Development Officer, Udbant Nagar, P.S. Udbant Nagar, District-Bhojpur

Honourable Mr. Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh

The petitioners are villagers of village Surhani, Police Station-Udbant Nagar, District- Bhojpur. They are aggrieved by the Notification dated 23.06.1994 (Annexure-3) whereby, as a result of re-organization of Surhani Gram Panchayat in exercise of power u/s 11(1) of Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, the name and Headquarter of Surhani Gram Panchayat has been changed to Kusumba Gram Panchayat. The notification as contained in Annexure-3 is based on statutory order issued by the Government of Bihar dated 15.10.1993 (Annexure-2) issued u/s 11(1) of the Act which, inter alia, contains the guideline as regards the establishment of headquarter of the Gram Panchayat.

Learned counsel for the petitioner has very fairly submitted that while issuing the notification as contained in Annexure-3, the statutory provisions have been followed as also the requirements as contained in the statutory order dated 15.10.1993 (Annexure-2).

Learned counsel for the petitioner, however, has questioned the reasonableness and rationality of Clause-5 to statutory order dated 15.10.1993 (Annexure-2) and contends that it is not only arbitrary, it leaves enough scope for ambiguity while interpreting the said provision.

Clause-4 of the statutory order dated 15.10.1993 (Annexure-2) provides that the headquarter of the Gram Panchayat declared after amalgamation of more than one village will be in the village having highest population. Clause 5 of the said order, however, provides that if in that area the population of the persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes is more than 50%, then in that case the headquarter of the Gram Panchayat will be located in the village where the proportionate population of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes is highest.

I am unable to accept the contention raised on behalf of the petitioner that the said provision is irrational or lacks clarity. The Constitution of India enables the State to make special provisions in the interest of certain Classes. The provision specifically requires that only in such circumstance where the population of persons belonging to the Class mentioned therein is more than 50% in the area, the headquarter will be fixed in the village where the proportionate population of persons belonging to the Class are highest.

From bare reading of the said Clause, it would appear that the population of the Class as mentioned therein has to be taken together for the purpose of determination of the village where the headquarter of the Gram Panchayat has to be fixed. I, accordingly, find no merit in this application. This application is dismissed but without costs.