WP(C) 4785/2009 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE IA ANSARI JUDGEMENT AND ORDER Election of the members of the District Planning Committee (in short, ’t he said Planning Committee’), for the district of Karimganj, for the financial y ear 2009-2010, from amongst the members of Karimganj Zilla Parishad, is under ch allenge in this writ petition made under Article 226 of the Constitution of Indi a. 2. The respondent No. 5 herein, namely, Chief Executive Officer, Karimganj Zilla Parishad, sent a letter, on 02-07-2009, to respondent No. 3 herein, namely , Deputy Commissioner, Karimganj, containing a list of 12 persons as elected mem bers of the said Planning Committee, claiming that the said list had been prepar ed, in terms of the requirements of Sub-Section (2) of Section 3 of the Assam Pa nchayat Act, 1994, in a meeting of the said Zilla Parishad concerned held on 29- 06-2009. The said list contained, amongst others, the names of the present writ petitioners as elected members of the said Planning Committee. The total strengt h of the directly elected members of Karimganj Zilla Parishad is 20. 3. However, respondent No. 5, namely, Chief Executive Officer, Karimganj Zi lla Parishad, sent another letter, on 21-10-2009, to the respondent No. 3, where by another list was forwarded for doing the needful, the list, so forwarded, is claimed to have been prepared in terms of the requirements of Sub-Section(2) of Section 3 of the Assam Panchayat Act, 1994 (in short, ’AP Act’). The second list introduced some modifications in the names of the persons, who were to be membe rs of the said Planning Committee. In the list, so forwarded, the names of the p resent petitioners were replaced by the names of the private respondents herein. By a representation, dated 23-10-2009, addressed to the respondent No. 3, namel y, Deputy Commissioner, Karimganj, some of the present petitioners expressed the ir grievances at the modification of the said list, which, according to the pers ons, who had made the representation, was illegal and they requested respondent No. 3 to cancel the said second list. 4. Thereafter, a notice was issued, on 26-10-2009, by the President, Karimg anj Zilla Parishad, calling for a meeting to be held, on 28-10-2009, for the pur pose of constituting the said Planning Committee. The notice also claimed that t he meeting was being convened at the instruction of the Deputy Commissioner, Kar imganj. After the meeting was held on 28-10-2009, a letter was sent by the prese nt petitioners and some others to the respondent No. 3, namely, Deputy Commissio ner, Karimganj, alleging, inter alia, that in the meeting, which had been conven ed, on 28-10-2009, the President of the said Zilla Parishad had simply declared the names of the members, who were to constitute the said Planning Committee and left the meeting hall. The signatories to the letter aforementioned accordingly requested the respondent No. 3, namely, Deputy Commissioner, Karimganj, to canc el the names of the persons, who were claimed to have been elected in the meetin g, which was held on 28-10-2009. 5. By means of the present writ petition, the petitioners have sought for i ssuance of a writ of certiorari setting aside and quashing the modified list, da ted 28-10-2009, aforementioned, as well as the impugned notice, dated 26-10-2009 , and the impugned resolution, dated 28-10-2009. 6. The respondent No. 3, namely, Deputy Commissioner, Karimganj, has filed his affidavit, wherein he has stated, inter alia, thus: A list of selected membe rs for the said Planning Committee of the said district was submitted to respond ent No. 3, namely, Deputy Commissioner, Karimganj, by the respondent No. 5, name ly, Chief Executive Officer, Karimganj Zilla Parishad, by the latter’s letter, d ated 30-06-2009, wherein the names of the present petitioners had appeared at Sl . Nos. 2, 4, 5, 8 and 13. The said list was accordingly submitted to the Governm ent on 18-07-2009. However, during the meeting, on 26-10-2009, as convened by th e respondent No. 4, namely, President Karimganj Zilla Parishad, for selection of scheme under the said Planning Committee, the President of Karimganj Zilla Pari shad tabled another list of 13 members, who were claimed to have been selected. As the list, so produced by the respondent No. 4, in the meeting held, on 26-10- 2009, differed from the list, which was earlier submitted, on 30-06-2009, object ions were raised by the Members of the Zilla Parishad in the said meeting itself and as the proceeding of the said meeting got disrupted, the respondent No. 3, intervened and requested the house to elect members of the said Planning Committ ee afresh to avoid any controversy. By letter, dated 26-10-2009, respondent No. 3, namely, Deputy Commissioner, Karimganj, accordingly requested respondent No. 5 to convene another meeting, on 28-10-2009, for a fresh selection of the 13 num ber of members of the District Planning Committee for Karimganj district. The me eting was accordingly convened on 28-10-2009 and though a list was prepared, the report, received from the respondent No. 3’s representatives in this regard, re vealed that the selection of the members of the said Committee in the said meeti ng, was not made in conformity with the prescribed manner. 7. To some extent, contradicting the above version of the respondent No. 3, namely, Deputy Commissioner, Karimganj, respondent No. 5, namely, Chief Executi ve Officer, Karimganj Zilla Parishad, has, in substance, in this affidavit, cont ended that in the meeting held on 28-10-2009, a resolution was adopted by voice vote in presence of the writ petitioners electing 13 members of the said Plannin g Committee. 8. The private respondents, who have got themselves impleaded in this case, have also filed an application for modification of the interim order, whereby t he directions had been passed, in the writ petition, on 10-11-2009, suspending o peration of the impugned orders, dated 20-10-2009, 21-10-2009 and 28-10-2009. 9. As the application, seeking modification, has not been heard within the requisite period, another application has been made by the writ petitioners seek ing extension of the said interim direction. This application has given rise to Misc. Case No. 462 of 2010. 10. Considering the fact that the period of the Planning Committee, in quest ion, would enure by efflux of time with the end of the March, 2010, i.e., 31-03- 2010, the writ petition, as has been sought for, and agreed to, by the learned c ounsel for the parties, has been taken up for final disposal and has accordingly been heard. 11. I have heard Mr. S Sarma, learned counsel for the writ petitioners, and Mr. N Dhar, learned counsel for the private respondents. I have also heard Mr. G Soren, learned Government Advocate, appearing on behalf of the State respondent s. 12. While considering the present writ petition, it needs to be pointed out that the provisions, with regard to the constitution of a District Planning Comm ittee under the AP Act, have been made in Chapter-II of the AP Act. Section 3(2) lays down that the said Planning Committee shall consist of the following: (a) the members of the House of People who represent the whole or part of th e district; (b) the members of the Assam Legislative Assembly whose major part of the co nstituencies fall within the District; (c) the President of the Zilla Parishad; (d) the Mayor or the Chairpersons of the Municipal Corporation/Municipal Boa rd/Town Committee as the case may be having jurisdiction over the Head Quarter o f the District; (e) such member of persons not less than four fifth of the total number of Members as may be specified by the Government, elected in the prescribed manner from amongst the members of the Zilla Parishad, Anchalik Panchayats, Gaon Panch ayats, Town Committees, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations in the Distric ts on rotation annually and in proportion to the ratio between the population of the rural areas and of the urban areas of the District. 13. A bare reading of what Section 3(2) provides clearly that the said Plann ing Committee shall have not less than 4/5th of the total number of members of t he Zilla Parishad and that the members are to be elected in the prescribed manne r from amongst the members of the Zilla Parishad, Councilors of Municipal Corpor ation or the Municipalities, as the case may be. The constitution of the said Pl anning Committee, as Sub-Section (1) of Section 3 reflects, is not the said Plan ning Committee of the Zilla Parishad, but the same is, in fact, the said Plannin g Committee of the Zilla Parishad, Anchalik Panchayats, Gaon Panchayats, Town Co mmittees, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations in the district. 14. In the present case, since we are concerned with the choice of the membe rs coming from the Zilla Parishad, we keep ourselves confined to Zilla Parishad. Sub-Sections (3)(4) and (5) of Section 3 make it clear that the Deputy Commissi oner of the district, Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad and the Pres ident of the Zilla Praishad shall be Ex-officio Member, Secretary and Chairman o f the District Planning Committee regulatory. The said Planning Committee’s role , as Section 3(6) reveals, is to consolidate the plan prepared by the Zilla Pari shad, Anchalik Panchayats, Gaon Panchayats, Town Committees, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations in the district concerned and prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole. 15. In terms of Clause (i) of Sub-Section 26 of Section 2, the ’financial ye ar’ means the year commencing on the first day of April every year and ending on the thirty-first day of March next year, whereas the ’Panchayat Year’ means, in the light of Clause (ii) of Sub-Section 26 of Section 2, the year commencing on the first day of July or on such other date as the State Government may by noti fication appoint. 16. In view of the fact that the writ petition raises disputed question of f act, adjudication of the question as to whether the list was prepared in accorda nce with law or not, would require holding of a roving inquiry. Such an inquiry, in a proceeding of present nature, is not feasible and is also not warranted by the facts of the present case. 17. Suffice it, however, to point out that under Section 3, it is the Govern ment, which shall constitute the said Planning Committee. It is, therefore, the Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned, whose responsibility it is to con stitute an appropriate said Planning Committee. The members of the Zilla Parisha d, in order to become members of the said Planning Committee, shall be elected a nd not selected or nominated at the initiative of the Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned members of the said Planning Committee. It is, therefore, ne cessary that before commencement of the financial year, the Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned ensures that the members of the said Planning Committe e are elected from amongst the member of the Zilla Parishad before the financial year commences. The election, therefore, has to be fair and transparent and all such steps as are necessary for the purpose of maintaining fairness and transpa rency must be taken by the Deputy Commissioner concerned. 18. Because of the fact that the current financial year would end, as alread y pointed out above, on 31st of March, 2010, and barely about two weeks’ time is left, the Deputy Commissioner, Karimganj, is hereby directed to take requisite steps and constitute the said Planning Committee in accordance with law for the district of Karimganj so that the Planning Committee, constituted in accordance with law, becomes functional with the commencement of the next financial year. 19. With the above observations and directions, this writ petition shall sta nd disposed of. 20. No order as to costs.