ATMA SINGH & ORS. versus STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS.

Citation: [1981] 3 S.C.R. 340 · Decided: 02-04-1981 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: Y.V. CHANDRACHUD · Disposal: Dismissed
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Judgment (excerpt)

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ATMA SINGH & ORS. 
v. 
STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS. 
April 2, 1981 
[Y.V. CHANDRACHUD. C.J., A.P. SEN AND 
V.BALAKRISHNA ERADI, JJ.] 
Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, read with Election Rules, 1952 and Delimitation 
of Wards of Municipalities Rules, 1972-State Government notifies inclusion of 
certain local areas within the limits of Sunam Municipality under sub-section (3) of 
section 5 of the Act-Operation of the notification stayed by the High Court and, 
ther~fore, the State Government without reconstituting the Municipality into new 
wards held elections on the basis of the old municipal limits in view of the obliga-
tory proviso to sub-section (3) of section 13 of the Act inserted by Punjab Act IO 
of 1978 as amended by Punjab Act 2 of 1979-Propriety of the action of the State 
to hold elections in the municipality without de/imitation of wards und preparation 
of fresh electoral rolls and validity of the elections. 
In exercise of their powers under sub-section (3) of section 5 of the Punjab 
Municipal Act, 1911, the State Government by its Notification dated August 2, 
1976 directed inclusion, in Sunam Municipality, of eight local areas including 
Moranwali Gram Panchayat, which challenged the validity of the said notifica-
tion by a writ petition filed before the High Court and obtained stay of 
operation. 
Under the Election Rules of 1952 and the Delimitation of Wards of Muni-
cipalities Rules, 1972, whenever there is a change in the limits of the municipali-
ty the State Government cannot proceed to hold election of councillors without 
delimitation of the municipality into wards. However, since proviso to sub-
section 3 of section 13 of the Act, inserted by Punjab Ace 18 of 1978 as amended 
by Punjab Act 2 of 1979 made it obligatory for the State Government to hold the 
election before June 30, 1979, along with those of the 42 other municipalities the 
election of the councillors of the Sunam Municipality was also held on June I 0, 
1979 on the basis of the old municipal limits, that is, from the existing 15 
wards. 
On June 23, 1979 the appellants who seek to represent about 1,000 voters 
from the local areas newly added to the municipal limits, filed a writ petition in 
the High Court challenging the election as null and void on the ground that 
there was no delimitation of wards and no fresh electoral rolls were prepared. 
The High Court by its order dated July JO, 1979 declined to set aside the elections 
held, but directed that the local areas be given representation under sub-section(5) 
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ATMA SINGH V. PUNJAB 
341 
of section 5 of the Act. Hence the appeal after obtaining special leave of the 
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Dismissing the appeal, the Court 
HELD: I. The State Government without reconstituting a municipality 
into new wards cannot proceed to hold an election of councillors, when there is 
an extension of the municipal limits. [346 C] 
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2. The whole purpose of delimitation of municipality into wards is to 
ensure that every citizen should get a fair representation in them unicipalities. 
When a municipality in reconstituted by the inclusion of any local area within 
the limits of a municipality under sub-section (3) of section 5 or by the exclusion 
of any local area from the limits of a municipality under section 7, that is, when 
there is an alteration of the limits of the municipality, there must of necessity be 
a division of the reconstituted municipality into new wards without which the 
elections cannot be held. There can be no:'.dis-enfranchisement of part of the 
electorate of a municipality. [345 C-D] 
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3. But, in the instant case, the said principle could not be applied due to 
the stay order passed by single Judge of the Punjab High Court which was in 
force from August 2, 1978 to October 23, 1978 and thereafter till April 1, 1980 
consequent to the order of stay of dispossession by the Division Bench, dated 
December 19, 1978 in the Letters Patent Appeal preferred by the Gram Pancha-
yat, Moranwali. When a local area sought to be •brougb.t within the limits of 
the municipality by the issue of a notification under sub-section (3) of section 5 
was kept out of such limits by reason of the stay order passed by the Division 
Bench there could, obviously, be no delimitation of the municipality into new 
wards. [346 C, D; 347 B, A] 
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4. To contend that with the di>misnl of the wcit P"tition on October 23, 
1978, the impugned notification was brought into effect and,
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