01Facts
The petitioners, a registered political party and a social worker, challenged a notification dated 01.09.2025 (published 15.09.2025) which reorganized and reconstituted the wards of the Municipal Board, Nokha.
¶ 1, 2.4Originally, the Board had 35 wards, increased to 45 in 2019-2020 based on the 2011 Census.
¶ 2.1On 22.11.2024, a notification under Section 6 of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009, was issued determining the structural composition of the wards.
¶ 2.2, 4.4.1The petitioners contended that the subsequent reorganization under Section 10 was illegal and arbitrary as it was conducted without a fresh census and violated population parity.
¶ 3.2, 3.4The State raised a preliminary objection regarding the maintainability of the petition under Article 243ZG of the Constitution.
¶ 402Issues
i.Whether the writ petition challenging the delimitation/territorial structuring of municipal wards is barred by Article 243ZG of the Constitution of India?
¶ 6ii.Whether the State Government has the independent power under Section 10 of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009, to undertake territorial structuring of wards without a fresh census or a preceding exercise under Section 6?
¶ 7, 8iii.Whether the ratio in Sheela Kumari v. State regarding census-based redetermination applies to the internal territorial structuring of wards under Section 10?
¶ 1003Law Applied
The Court primarily applied Article 243ZG of the Constitution of India, which mandates a bar to interference by courts in electoral matters, specifically the delimitation of constituencies.
¶ 6.1It relied on Sections 6 (composition of municipality) and 10 (determination of wards) of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009.
¶ 4.2.1, 8.1Precedents included Guddi v. State of Rajasthan, establishing that final delimitation notifications cannot be scrutinized due to the constitutional bar.
¶ 6.4Nathi Devi v. Radha Devi Gupta, which held that courts cannot supply casus omissus or read words into a statute that are not there.
¶ 4.3.6, 7.6The court also distinguished Sheela Kumari v. State, noting it addressed Section 6(2) regarding census-linked redetermination rather than Section 10 territorial structuring.
¶ 10.1Provisions in the judgment · 3 · Linked ones open on LawLens
RAJASTHAN MUNICIPALITIES ACT,2009 Section 3Section 6Section 10
04Reasoning
The Court reasoned that Article 243ZG creates a robust constitutional embargo against judicial interference in delimitation matters to ensure electoral processes are not derailed.
¶ 6.3, 6.6On the statutory merits, the Court found a clear distinction between Section 6 (quantitative structural composition) and Section 10 (spatial/territorial configuration).
¶ 8.1-8.3It held that Section 10 is an independent enabling provision; its exercise is not contingent upon a fresh census or a new Section 6 notification, as the legislature did not include such restrictive language in the text of Section 10.
¶ 7.3-7.5Furthermore, the Court noted that the petitioners failed to challenge the foundational Section 6 notification dated 22.11.2024, which had attained finality; thus, they could not indirectly assail it via a challenge to the Section 10 reorganization.
¶ 9.1-9.5Finally, the Court ruled that Sheela Kumari did not apply as it did not adjudicate the independent scope of Section 10.
¶ 10.2-10.405Holding
The Court held that the writ petition was not maintainable due to the constitutional bar under Article 243ZG.
¶ 11.2On merits, it held that the State possesses independent authority under Section 10 to structure wards territorially without a fresh census.
¶ 8.6, 10.6The Court found no jurisdictional error or constitutional infirmity in the impugned notification.
¶ 11.1Consequently, the writ petition and all pending applications were dismissed.
¶ 11.3Original Court PDF
Vikas Manch & Anr. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors. [2026:RJ-JD:10753-DB]
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