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Book Review
Devolution of power
V. K. SRINIVASAN
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The genesis, points of jurisprudence and the law common to local self-government bodies
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COURTS, PANCHAYATS AND NAGARPALIKAS — Background and Review of the Case Law: K. C. Sivaramakrishnan; Academic Foundation, 4772-73, 23 Bharat Ram Road (23 Ansari Road), Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002. Rs. 995.
The evolution of local self-government bodies in India through various eras — ancient, medieval, Mughal and British — has been so well documented that one should be surprised that even after six decades of independence there is less than universal recognition and wholehearted acceptance of the vital contribution these bodies can make to the socio-economic development of the country. As K.C. Sivaramakrishnan points out in his Courts, Panchayats and
Nagarpalikas—Background and Review of the Case Law, despite Mahatma Gandhi’s desires to make the village Panchayat the very foundation of democracy in India, “The first draft of India’s Constitution circulated after Mahatma’s martyrdom did not include any provision for the Panchayats.” That was in spite of earlier history of recognition accorded to Panchayats by Charles Metcalfe, the Governor General in 1835, the Famine Commission Report in 1880, Lord Ripon’s Resolution of 1882, Report of Royal Commission on Decentralisation (1909), Montague-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 and the specific entry 12 of the Provincial List in the Government of India Act 1935.
Developments
However, thanks to a letter from Dr. Rajendra Prasad and an amendment proposal from K. Santhanam, the Constitution has in its final version, the Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 40 laying down, “The State shall take steps to organize Village Panchayats and endow them with such power and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of Self Government.” While Panchayats as such do not figure in the allocation of subjects in the Union, State and Concurrent Lists in Schedule 7 of the Constitution, entry 5 in the State List refers to “Local Self Government that covers municipal corporations, improvement trusts, district boards, mining settlement authorities and other local authorizing for the purpose of local self-government or village administration.” Entry 3 in the Union list refers to “Cantonments.”
In the introduction, the author brings out with clarity the post-Independence developments leading to the unsuccessful 64th and 65th Constitutional Amendment Bills of 1989 and the successful 73rd and 74th Amendments of 1992; the latter inserted in the Constitution Part IX with 16 articles relating to Panchayats and Part IX A with 18 articles relating to municipalities. An overview of the 73rd and 74th Amendments provides the definition of gramsabha, Panchayat area, municipal area, municipal councils, Constitution, composition provisions for reservations, for women and SCs/STs, procedures for elections, as also powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats and municipalities. He also offers an overview of various state laws and highlights the fact that the focus of the effort of the states “has been on compliance to the constitutional provisions to the minimum extent rather than on elaboration or rationalization.”
Jurisprudence
With the emergence of 4500 corporations, municipalities and Nagar Panchayats, and about 2.4 lakh Panchayats, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj organised a study to consolidate “Panchayati Raj jurisprudence” covering three broad streams—analysis of the case law emerging from litigation adjudicated in the High Court and the Supreme Court, review of Panchayati Raj laws enacted by various state governments and a review of the various central state laws impinging on the functional domain of Panchayats. Guided by the belief that “cases relating to both Panchayats and Municipalities are equally relevant and critical in determining what can be regarded as settled law on decentralization,” Sivaramakrishnan carries the task further and analyses over 250 judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court, and presents them in eight chapters devoted to conduct of elections, their regularity, the nature and type of disqualification of candidates, reservation of posts like chairman and seats for SCs, STs, procedures for removal of elected persons, the functional jurisdiction of Panchayats and municipalities, and the planning domains of the two sets of bodies.
Case laws
The author has done well to set out, with clarity, the theme and provisions covered in each chapter, before dissecting the cases and decisions of the various High Courts, and wherever necessary, the Supreme Court. The author has cast his net very wide and the resultant catch of case laws not only covers the various states in the country but also brings out the nuances of judicial decisions on a variety of issues. Limitations of space preclude a discussion of these decisions. Extracts from judgments have been annexed to each important chapter, rendering the tasks of administrators, academic scholars and legal practitioners, an easy one.
A brief bibliography but a far more relevant and extremely useful chapter-wise index of over 200 judicial decisions with citations make the book a handy reference that needs to be in the hands of not only those at the helm of Panchayats and municipalities, but also district collectors and judges, who are called upon to settle issues. This book is a must for the libraries of state governments, high courts and law colleges and judicial academies.
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