C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::1:: IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision : September 14, 2010 1. C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 Pawan Kumar and others vs State of Haryana and others 2. C.W.P No. 3004 of 2010 Rajesh Sharma and others v. The State of Haryana and others 3. C.W.P No.3290 of 2010 Surinder Kumar and others v. State of Haryana and others 4. C.W.P No.3628 of 2010 Prem Chand and others v State of Haryana and others 5. C.W.P No.3729 of 2010 Jaswinder Singh and another v. State of Haryana and others 6. C.W.P No.3781 of 2010 Vedpal and another v. State of Haryana and others 7. C.W.P No.3858 of 2010 Sucha Singh v. State of Haryana and others 8. C.W.P No.3976 of 2010 Ram Chander v. State of Haryana and others 9. C.W.P No.3979 of 2010 Karambir v. State of Haryana and others 10. C.W.P No.4017 of 2010 Azad Singh and others v. State of Haryana and others 11. C.W.P No.4056 of 2010 Nasib Singh v. State of Haryana and others 12. C.W.P No.4084 of 2010 Sukhbir Singh and others v. State of Haryana and others 13. C.W.P No.4143 of 2010 Jaspal Singh v. State of Haryana and others 14. C.W.P No.4154 of 2010 Amrik Singh v. State of Haryana and others 15. C.W.P No.4575 of 2010 Dharminder Singh v. State of Haryana and others C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::2:: 16. C.W.P No.4582 of 2010 Balkar Singh v. State of Haryana and others 17. C.W.P No.4691 of 2010 Jangbir v. State of Haryana and others 18. C.W.P No.4900 of 2010 Gurmail Singh and others v. State of Haryana and others 19. C.W.P No.4989 of 2010 Anil Kumar and others v. The State of Haryana and others 20. C.W.P No.5103 of 2010 Barinder Singh v. State of Haryana and others 21. C.W.P No.5341 of 2010 Gian Singh v. State of Haryana and others 22. C.W.P No.5488 of 2010 Sanjay and another v. State of Haryana and others 23. C.W.P No. 5496 of 2010 Mahabir v. State of Haryana and others 24. C.W.P No.5519 of 2010 Lehna Singh v. State of Haryana and others 25. C.W.P No.5524 of 2010 Sarwan Kumar and another v. State of Haryana and others 26. C.W.P No.5533 of 2010 Kanwar Singh v. State of Haryana and others 27 C.W.P No.5680 of 2010 Karan Singh v. State of Haryana and others 28. C.W.P No. 6752 of 2010 Sunil Lamba v. State of Haryana and others 29. C.W.P No.6817 of 2010 Kartar Singh v. State of Haryana and others 30. C.W.P No.6818 of 2010 Ram Chander v. State of Haryana and others 31. C.W.P No.6819 of 2010 Udham Singh v. State of Haryana and others 32. C.W.P No.6890 of 2010 Hari Parkash v. The State of Haryana and others 33. C.W.P No. 7212 of 2010 C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::3:: Piara Singh and another v. State of Haryana and others 34. C.W.P No.7515 of 2010 Bhushan Kumar and another v. State of Haryana and others 35. C.W.P No.7525 of 2010 Gurminder Singh and others v. State of Haryana and others 36. C.W.P No.7529 of 2010 Dalip Singh v. State of Haryana and others 37. C.W.P No.7533 of 2010 Jagat Singh v. State of Haryana and others 38. C.W.P No. 7541 of 2010 Dharmender and another v. State of Haryana and others 39. C.W.P No.7542 of 2010 Vedpal v. State of Haryana and others 40. C.W.P No. 7552 of 2010 Phool Singh and another v. State of Haryana and others 41. C.W.P No.7553 of 2010 Khem Chand v. State of Haryana and others 42. C.W.P No.7554 of 2010 Kavinder Kaur and others v. State of Haryana and others 43. C.W.P No.7555 of 2010 Suresh Kumar v. State of Haryana and others 44. C.W.P No.7561 of 2010 Satbir Singh v. State of Haryana and others 45. C.W.P No.7590 of 2010 Naresh Kumar v. State of Haryana and others 46. C.W.P No.7616 of 2010 Naresh Rohal v. State of Haryana and others 47. C.W.P No. 7714 of 2010 Rajesh Rawal and another v. State of Haryana and others 48. C.W.P No.7737 of 2010 Balbir Singh and others v. State of Haryana and others 49. C.W.P No.7739 of 2010 Shanti Devi v. State of Haryana and others 50. C.W.P No. 7960 of 2010 Gurdip Singh v. State of Haryana and others C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::4:: 51. C.W.P No. 8054 of 2010 Prakash Chand v. State of Haryana and others 52. C.W.P No. 8061 of 2010 Dildar Ahmad v. State of Haryana and others 53. C.W.P No. 8196 of 2010 Subhash v. State of Haryana and others 54. C.W.P No. 8241 of 2010 Joginder and others v. State of Haryana and others 55. C.W.P No. 8246 of 2010 Harcharan Singh v. State of Haryana and others 56. C.W.P No. 8295 of 2010 Rajesh Kumar v. State of Haryana and others 57. C.W.P No. 8312 of 2010 Gurvinder Singh v. State of Haryana and others 58. C.W.P No. 8319 of 2010 Latif v. State of Haryana and others 59. C.W.P No. 8323 of 2010 Nissan Singh v. State of Haryana and others 60. C.W.P No. 8334 of 2010 Kulwant Singh v. State of Haryana and others 61. C.W.P No. 8340 of 2010 Vikram Singh v. State of Haryana and others 62. C.W.P No. 8428 of 2010 Raj Kumar and others v. State of Haryana and others 63. C.W.P No. 8482 of 2010 Bhup Singh v. State of Haryana and others 64. C.W.P No. 8484 of 2010 Ram Pal v. State of Haryana and others 65. C.W.P No. 8512 of 2010 Vikram Singh and others v. State of Haryana and others 66. C.W.P No. 8542 of 2010 Jai Singh v. State of Haryana and others 67. C.W.P No. 8543 of 2010 Shamsher v. State of Haryana and others 68. C.W.P No. 8593 of 2010 C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::5:: Amarjit Singh v. State of Haryana and others 69. C.W.P No. 8633 of 2010 Deepak Sharma v. State of Haryana and others 70. C.W.P No. 8641 of 2010 Ram Singh and others v. State of Haryana and others 71. C.W.P No. 8645 of 2010 Rajbir v. State of Haryana and others 72. C.W.P No. 8653 of 2010 Hukam Chand v. State of Haryana and others 73. C.W.P No. 8682 of 2010 Surender Singh v. State of Haryana and others 74. C.W.P No. 8974 of 2010 Ajay Kumar v. State of Haryana and others 75. C.W.P No. 9001 of 2010 Ravi Chouhan and others v. State of Haryana and others 76. C.W.P No. 9031 of 2010 Charan Singh v. State of Haryana and others 77. C.W.P No. 9055 of 2010 Sohan Singh v. State of Haryana and others 78. C.W.P No. 9057 of 2010 Baljinder Kaur v. State of Haryana and others 79. C.W.P No. 9118 of 2010 Dariya Singh and another v. State of Haryana and others 80. C.W.P No. 9128 of 2010 Braham Dutt v. State of Haryana and others 81. C.W.P No. 9160 of 2010 Shamsher Singh and another v. State of Haryana and others 82. C.W.P No. 9219 of 2010 Narinder Kaur v. State of Haryana and others 83. C.W.P No. 9266 of 2010 Mohar Singh v. State of Haryana and others 84. C.W.P No. 9288 of 2010 Randhir Singh and another v. State of Haryana and others 85. C.W.P No. 9303 of 2010 Satbir v. State of Haryana and others C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::6:: 86. C.W.P No. 9319 of 2010 Jai Singh v. State of Haryana and others 87. C.W.P No. 9323 of 2010 Narender v. State of Haryana and others 88. C.W.P No. 9333 of 2010 Rattan Singh v. State of Haryana and others 89. C.W.P No. 9338 of 2010 Rakesh Kumar v. State of Haryana and others 90. C.W.P No. 9371 of 2010 Rajinder Kumar v. State of Haryana and others 91. C.W.P No. 9498 of 2010 Rameshwar Dayal and others v. The State of Haryana and others 92. C.W.P No. 9524 of 2010 Balwant Singh v. State of Haryana and others 93. C.W.P No. 9537 of 2010 Satvir Singh v. State of Haryana and others 94. C.W.P No. 9572 of 2010 Niyaj Mohd. v. State of Haryana and others 95. C.W.P No. 9732 of 2010 Dharamveer v. State of Haryana and others 96. C.W.P No. 9735 of 2010 Balbir Singh v. State of Haryana and others 97. C.W.P No. 9825 of 2010 Zile Singh and others v. State of Haryana and others 98. C.W.P No. 9891 of 2010 Naresh Kumar and others v. State of Haryana and others 99. C.W.P No. 9910 of 2010 Parveen Kumar v. State of Haryana and others 100. C.W.P No. 10084 of 2010 Shamsher Singh v. State of Haryana and others 101. C.W.P No. 10236 of 2010 Malook Singh v. State of Haryana and others 102. C.W.P No. 10237 of 2010 Subash v. State of Haryana and others 103. C.W.P No. 10360 of 2010 C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::7:: Gurmeet Singh v. State of Haryana and others 104. C.W.P No. 10536 of 2010 Rajbir Singh Chauhan v. State of Haryana and others 105. C.W.P No. 11212 of 2010 Narender Kumar v. State of Haryana and others 106. C.W.P No. 11278 of 2010 Birbal Singh and another v. State of Haryana and others 107. C.W.P No. 11730 of 2010 Sissan v. State of Haryana and others 108. C.W.P No. 11784 of 2010 Anil Kumar v. State of Haryana and others 109. C.W.P No. 12955 of 2010 Bijender Singh v. State of Haryana and others 110. C.W.P No. 13002 of 2010 Sant Lal v. State of Haryana and others 111. C.W.P No. 13195 of 2010 Pritam Singh and others v. State of Haryana and others 112. C.W.P No. 13581 of 2010 Jagmal Singh v. State of Haryana and others 113. C.W.P No. 13585 of 2010 Shishpal v. State of Haryana and others 114. C.W.P No. 13591 of 2010 Kanta Devi v. State of Haryana and others 115. C.W.P No. 13995 of 2010 Ishwar Kumar v. State of Haryana and others *** CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MUKUL MUDGAL, CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE AJAY TEWARI *** Present : Mr. Gaurav Mohunta, Advocate Mr. Rajnish Chadwal, Advocate Mr. Vikram Singh, Advocate Mr. Sajjan Singh, Advocate Mr. Harkesh Manuja, Advocate Mr. Rajiv Godara, Advocate Mr. R.D.Gupta, Advocate Mr. R.S.Mamli, Advocate C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::8:: Mr. C.S.Sharma, Advocate Mr. Ashok Kaushik, Advocate Mr. Vivek Goel, Advocate Mr. HPS Aulakh, Advocate Mr. Parminder Singh, Advocate Mr. Pankaj Bali, Advocate Mr. Ramesh Hooda, Advocate Mr. Rakesh Gupta, Advocate Mr. Sailender Singh, Advocate Mr. Sailendera Sharma, Advocate Mr. Ashok Khubbar, Advocate Mr. Ranjit Saini, Advocate Mr. Jagdish Manchanda, Advocate Mr. A.K.Rathee, Advocate Mr. NPS Mann, Advocate Mr. Rakesh Nehra, Advocate Mr. JS Hooda, Advocate Mr. S.P.Chahar, Advocate Mr. Sushil Jain, Advocate Mr. Saloinder Singh, Advocate Mr. S.S.Godara, Advocate Mr. Surender Saini, Advocate Mr. J.S.Saneta, Advocate Mr. Naveen Kaushik, Advocate Mr. S.K.Hooda, Advocate Mr. Anuj Arora, Advocate Mr. Manish Soni, Advocate Mr. R.D.Yadav, Advocate Mr. S.S.Sidhu, Advocate Mr. D.R.Bansal, Advocate Mr. M.S.Tewatia, Advocate Mr. Arvind Singh, Advocate Mr. Madan Lal, Advocate Ms. Sharmila Sharma, Advocate Mr. N.K.Joshi, Advocate Mr. Vikram Punia, Advocate Mr. Harsh Kinra, Advocate Mr. Dimple Sangwan, Advocate Mr. A.K.Jain, Advocate Mr. Chanderhas Yadav, Advocate Mr. Pankaj Jain, Advocate Mr. Sandeep Kotla, Advocate Mr. Sailender Kashyap, Advocate Mr. V.B.Aggarwal, Advocate Mr. A.K.Bura, Advocate Mr. Sanjay Verma, Advocate Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, Advocate Mr. Amit Kumar Goel, Advocate Mr. Brijender Kaushik, Advocate Mr. U.K.Agnihotri, Advocate Mr. Arvinder Arora, Advocate Mr. Jagdeep Singh, Advocate C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::9:: Mr. Dalel Singh Nain, Advocate Mr. Bhupinder Singh Bhiragi, Advocate Mr. B.K.Bagri, Advocate Mr. Raj Mohan Singh, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. H.S.Hooda, Advocate General, Haryana with Mr. Randhir Singh, Addl. A.G Haryana for the respondents. *** 1. Whether Reporters of Local Newspapers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest ? *** MUKUL MUDGAL, CHIEF JUSTICE This judgment shall dispose of C.W.P Nos. 3403, 3004, 3290, 3628, 3729, 3781, 3858, 3976, 3979, 4017, 4056, 4084, 4143, 4154, 4575, 4582, 4691, 4900, 4989, 5103, 5341, 5488, 5496, 5519, 5524, 5533, 5680, 6752, 6817, 6818, 6819, 6890, 7212, 7515, 7525, 7529, 7533, 7541, 7542, 7552, 7553, 7554, 7555, 7561, 7590, 7616, 7714, 7737, 7739, 7960, 8054, 8061, 8196, 8241, 8246, 8295, 8312, 8319, 8323, 8334, 8340, 8428, 8482, 8484, 8512, 8542, 8543, 8593, 8633, 8641, 8645, 8653, 8682, 8974, , 9001, 9031, 9055, 9057, 9118, 9128, 9160, 9219, 9266, 9288, 9303, 9319, 9323, 9333, 9338, 9371, 9498, 9524, 9537, 9572, 9732, 9735, 9825, 9891, 9910, 10084, 10236, 10237, 10360, 10536, 11212, 11278, 11730, 11784, 12955, 13002, 13195, 13581, 13585, 13591, 13995 of 2010, as common questions of law and facts are involved therein. For the sake of convenience, facts are being extracted from CWP No.3403 of 2010. The petitioners have challenged the reservation of seats for Sarpanches (Scheduled Castes men and women) under the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 in the Panchayati elections held in the year 2010. The Parliament of India inserted Part IX of the Constitution by C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::10:: the 73rd Constitutional Amendment with the express purpose of strengthening and further democraticising local self government at the rural level. It is averred in the writ petition that as per respondent No.4, out of 63 Gram Panchayats in Block Ladwa, 13 Gram Panchayats are to be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Caste (Women). A copy of list of such villages as published in the local daily news paper is Annexure P-1. It is further averred that the offices of Sarpanches of the Gram Panchayats viz Bodla, Karami and Salempur were reserved for Scheduled Castes in the year 1994 and that of Untehari in the year 2000. The petitioners belong to these Gram Panchayats. The grouse of the petitioners is that as per list of Block Ladwa, the offices of Sarpanches of 27 Gram Panchayats from Sr. No.3 to 29 have never been reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Caste (Women) since 1994, while the offices of Sarpanches of the Gram Panchayats of the petitioners have been repeatedly reserved. The plea taken by the respondents is that reservation proceedings for reservation of offices of Sarpanches were conducted by respondent No.4 in view of the census of 2001, as per which the percentage of population of Scheduled Caste was amongst the first highest in the Gram Panchayat/s of the petitioner/s and, thus, the offices of Sarpanches of the Gram Panchayats belonging to the petitioners were reserved for Scheduled Castes. Further, to a query sought by the Deputy Commissioner, Bhiwani, the Director of Panchayats, Haryana replied as under :- “ In view of the above mentioned provision of the Act, the reservation of seats under sub-sections (1), (2), (3) and (5) of Sections 9, 59 and sub-sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of Section 120 of the Act, 1994 ibid, shall have to C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::11:: be reviewed after every decennial census. Accordingly, the reservation of seats for women belonging to Scheduled Castes/General category may be allotted by rotation and by lots to different wards, reserved under sub-section (1) of Sections 9, 59 and 120 after the decennial census i.e 2001.” It is further mentioned in the reply that the Legal Remembrancer Haryana also opined to the above effect. For the purpose of this petition, it would be appropriate to re- produce Articles 243, 243-A, 243-B, 243-C and 243-D of the Constitution, which read as under :- “243 – Definitions.- In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) 'district' means a district in a State; (b) 'Gram Sabha' means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of Panchayat at the village level; (c) 'intermediate level' means a level between the village and district levels specified by the Governor of a State by public notification to be the intermediate level for the purposes of this Part; (d) 'Panchayat' means an institution (by whatever name called) of self-government constituted under article 243B, for the rural areas; (e) 'Panchayat area' means the territorial area of a Panchayat; (f) 'population' means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published; (g) 'village' means a village specified by the Governor by public notification to be a village for the purposes of this Part and includes a group of villages so specified. 243A - Gram Sabha: A Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State may by law, provide. 243B - Constitution of Panchayats (1) There shall be constituted in every State, Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels in accordance with the C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::12:: provisions of this Part. (2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), Panchayats at the intermediate level may not be constituted in a State having a population not, exceeding twenty lakhs. 243C - Composition of Panchayats (1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions with respect to the composition of Panchayats; Provided that the ratio between the population of the territorial area of a Panchayat at any level and the number of seats in such Panchayat to be filled by election shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the State, (2) All the seats in a Panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area and, for this purpose, each Panchayat area shall be ided into territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the Panchayat area. (3) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide for the representation-- (a) of the Chairpersons of the Panchayats at the village level, in the Panchayats at the intermediate level or, in the case of a State not having Panchayats at the intermediate level, in the Panchayats at the district level; (b) if the Chairpersons of the Panchayats at the intermediate level, in the Panchayats at the district level; (c) of the members of the House of the People and the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State representing constituencies which comprise wholly or partly a Panchayat area at a level other than the village level, in such Panchayat; (d) of the members of the Council of States and the members of the Legislative Council of the State, where they are registered as electors within— (i) a Panchayat area at the intermediate level, in Panchayat at the intermediate level; (ii) a Panchayat area at the district level, in Panchayat at the district level. (4) The Chairperson of a Panchayat and other members of a Panchayat whether or not chosen by direct election C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::13:: from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area shall have the right to vote in the meetings of the Panchayats. (5) The Chair person of-- (a) Panchayat at the village level shall be elected in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide; and (b) a Panchayat at the intermediate level or district level, shall be elected by, and from amongst, the elected members thereof. 243D - Reservation of seats (1) Seats shall be reserved for-- (a) the Scheduled Castes; and (b) the Scheduled Tribes, in every Panchayat and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the, total number of seats to be filled by direct election in that Panchayat as the population of the Scheduled Castes in that Panchayat area or of the Scheduled Tribes in that Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat. (2) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging, to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes. (3) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by relation to different constituencies in a Panchayat. (4) The offices of the Chairpersons in the Panchayats at the village or any other level shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes the Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide: (emphasis supplied) Provided that the number of offices of Chairpersons reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Panchayats at each level in any State shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of such offices in the Panchayats at each level as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the State or of the Scheduled Tribes in the State bears to the total population of the State: C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::14:: Provided further that not less than one-third of the total number of offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level shall be reserved for women: Provided also that the number of offices reserved under this clause shall be allotted by rotation to different Panchayats at each level. (emphasis supplied) (5) The reservation of seats under clauses (1) and (2) and the reservation of offices of Chairpersons (other than the reservation for women) under clause (4) shall cease to have effect on the expiration of the period specified in article 334 . (6) Nothing in this Part shall prevent the Legislature of a State from making any provision for reservation of seats in any Panchayat or offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at any level in favour of backward class of citizens.” As mandated by Article 243-D(4) of the Constitution, the State of Haryana enacted the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (for short `the Act'). The relevant provisions of the Act are re-produced hereunder :- 9. Reservation of seats in Gram Panchayat (1) Seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes in every Gram Panchayat and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by election in that Panchayat as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area and such seats may be allotted to such wards having maximum population of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes. (2) Not less than one-third of the total numbers of seats reserved under sub-section (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and such seats may be allotted by rotation and by lots to different wards reserved under sub-section (1). (3) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat, shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation and by lots to different wards in a Panchayat except those falling under sub-sections (1) and (2). (4) The offices of the Sarpanches in the Gram Panchayat in a block shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Women: C.W.P No. 3403 of 2010 ::15:: Provided that the number of offices of Sarpanches reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the Block shall bear, as may be, the same proportion to the total number of such offices in the Block as the population to the Scheduled Castes in the State bears to the total population of