1. MUHAMMAD FARRUKH IRFAN KHAN, J.--- The petitioner is aggrieved of the order of the Delimitation Authority dated 2-11-2013 and subsequent notification dated 4-11-2013 whereby said authority excluded village Rakh Buland from Union Council Pellowance and included it in Union Council Buland.
2. 2.Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that while carrying out impugned delimitation the Delimitation Authority excluded the village Rakh Buland from Union Council Pellowance which was part and parcelofsaidUnionCouncilforthelastmorethan36years;that due to this delimitation population of Union Council Pellowance decreased to 9833, whereas, population of U.C. Rakh Buland reached to 15175; that even the objectors do not belong to Union Council Pellowance as such under the law they have no locus standi to file objections; that fresh delimitation is based on mala fide and result of political victimization.
3. 3.Conversely, learned Law Officer assisted by the learned counsel for respondents Nos.4 and 5 submits that impugned delimitation has been done according to the guidelines for Delimitation of Union Councils and Wards under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 and the rules made thereunder; that Union Council Pellowance primarily consisted of two different races; that people of U.C. Pellowance belong to Jasra tribes, whereas, people of U.C. Buland belong to Kallu tribe ; that delimitation of union council has been done on the basis of principles of population, uniformity, territorial unity/geographical compactness and the convenience of general public and no occasion arises for this Court to intervene with the same.
4. 4.I have heard the arguments of the learned counsel for the parties and gone through the record.
5. 5.Section 8(1)(2)(a) of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 provides as under:--- "8. Delimitation of Union Councils.--- (1) A Union Council shall be an area consisting of one or more revenue estates or, in the case of an area where revision of settlement under the law has not been taken place, one or more census villages or in the case of an urban area, a census block or blocks as delimited for purposes of the last preceding census or a census block and a revenue estate, notified as such by the Government.
6. (2)As far as possible: (a)the area of a Union Council shall be a territorial unity;"
7. The map of recently delimited Union Councils, Buland and UC Pellowance, produced by respondent No.3 has also been perused. It is apparent that through the impugned delimitation village Rakh Buland is adjoining U.C. Buland on the basis of natural compactness and territorial unity in conformity with the provisions of section 8(1)2(a) of the law (ibid). Moreover, inclusion of village Rakh Buland to U.C. Buland does not break any revenue estate.
8. 6.So far as the objection of the learned counsel for the petitioner that by inclusion of village Rakh Buland in Union Council Buland the resultant population of Union Council Buland will surge to 15175 and that of Union Council Pellowance would be reduced to 9833 is concerned, perusal of the record shows that average population of other union councils in this area is about 15,000/-, therefore, even if the population of U.C. Buland is increased to 15,175 this would be in conformity with the average population of the remaining union councils of the area and under the law (ibid)
9. Delimitation Authority is vested with the powers to make such change for the convenience of the public at large. As to the stance of the petitioner that the population of U.C. Pellowance would be reduced to 9833, it may be observed that this population is calculated according to census of 1998 and now after a period of fifteen years it would have definitely crossed the minimum limit i.e. 10,000 for a union council.
10. 7.So far as objection of the learned counsel for the petitioner that theobjectorsdonotbelongtounioncouncilBulandisconcerned, Rule 6(1) of the Punjab Local Governments (Delimitation) Rules, 2013 provides as under:--- "6.Proposals, objections, suggestions and recommendations.--- (1) The Delimitation Officer shall publish, in Form-1 on a conspicuous place at his office and the offices of Assistant Delimitation Officers and the local government a Preliminary list of wards or union councils specifying the areas to be included in each word or a union council along with the map, together with a notice inviting objections and suggestions from the public, within a period of seven days of the publication of the preliminary list."
11. The aforesaid rule makes it abundantly clear that purpose of publication of Form-1 is to invite objections from the "public" as such the objections of the learned counsel has no force in so far as it is not restricted to the residents of concerned union council. Even otherwise, according to the reply of the respondents, the objectors are residents of newly-created union council.
12. 8.From the above discussion, it has been established on record that by carrying out impugned delimitation, Delimitation Authority has not committed any illegality or violation of the provisions of Punjab Local Government Act, 2013, rules made thereunder and the guidelines for Delimitation of Union Councils and Wards, warranting interference by this Court in its Constitutional jurisdiction.
13. Hence, this petition being without any substance is dismissed with no order as to costs.