Reservation process competence upheld where the Deputy Commissioner could rescind an unauthorised delegation and restart the election reservation exercise.

Rule 10 of the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Election Rules, 2015 vested the reservation and rotation process in the Deputy Commissioner, including issuance and publication of the notice, so that function could not be delegated to the Sub Divisional Officer (Civil). The Sub Divisional Officer was not lawfully acting as the Deputy Commissioner for the purpose of Section 18 of the Himachal Pradesh General Clauses Act, and the initial delegation was therefore beyond competence. The Deputy Commissioner was entitled to rescind the unauthorised process and conduct a fresh one, and the cancellation was not shown to be arbitrary, mala fide, or violative of Article 14. The challenge failed and the petition was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the Deputy Commissioner was competent to cancel the reservation process undertaken by the Sub Divisional Officer (Civil) and conduct the process himself, and whether the action was arbitrary or violative of Article 14.

Analysis: Rule 10 of the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Election Rules, 2015 vests the reservation and rotation process in the Deputy Commissioner and requires him to issue the notice and publicise the reservation. The Deputy Commissioner had no authority to delegate that function to the Sub Divisional Officer (Civil), and the latter was not lawfully performing the duties of the Deputy Commissioner so as to attract Section 18 of the Himachal Pradesh General Clauses Act. Since the initial authorization was beyond competence, the Deputy Commissioner was entitled to rescind it and correct the error, and the cancellation of the earlier process did not suffer from mala fides, arbitrariness, or illegality.

Conclusion: The challenge to the cancellation and to the fresh process failed; the Deputy Commissioner's action was upheld and the petition was dismissed.

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