(1) For every municipal council, there shall be a president and a vice-president.

¹ [(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2A) the Councillors shall at the first meeting of the Municipal Council after the general election and at a subsequent meeting held immediately before the expiry of term of office of the President and Vice-president chose two members from amongst the elected councillors to be respectively president and Vice-President and so often as there is a casual vacancy in the office of the President, or Vice President shall choose another member from amongst the elected councillors to be the President or Vice-president, as the case may be.]

² [(2A) There shall be reserved by the Government in the prescribed manner, --

(a) such number of offices of President and Vice-President in the State for the persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the number of such offices bearing as nearly as may be the same proportion to the total number of offices in the State as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the State or of the Scheduled Tribes in the State bears to the total population of the State;

(b) such number of offices of President and Vice-president in the State which shall as nearly as may be one-third of the total number of offices of President and Vice-president in the State for the persons belonging to the Backward Classes;

³ [Provided that out of the offices reserved under this clause eighty per cent of the total number of such offices shall be reserved for the persons falling under category "A" and the remaining twenty per cent of the offices shall be reserved for the persons falling under category "B":

Provided further that if no person falling under category "A" is available, offices reserved for that category shall also be filled by the persons falling under category "B" and vice versa.]

(c) not less than one-third of the total number of offices of the President and Vice-president in the State from each of the categories, reserved for persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes and those which are non-reserved, for women:

Provided that the offices reserved under this sub-section shall be allotted by rotation in the prescribed manner to different municipal councils.

Explanation.--For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that the principal of rotation for the purpose of reservation of offices under this subsection shall commence from the first ordinary election to be held after the first day of June 1994;]

(3) The election of the president or the vice-president and the filling up of vacancies in the said offices and the determination of disputes relating to such election shall be ⁴ [x x x] in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed:

Provided that the authority to determine such election disputes shall be such judicial officer as may be prescribed.

⁵ [(4) x x x]

(5) During a vacancy in the office of the president of a municipal council and when there is no vice-president to take his place or if a vice-president fails to assume charge of the office of president which has fallen vacant as required by sub-section (2) of section 44, then without prejudice to any action under sub-section (10) the Deputy Commissioner or the person performing the duties of the Deputy Commissioner for the time being in the case of ⁶ [city municipal councils and in the case of town municipal councils] any officer nominated by him in this behalf not below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner in the case of ⁶ [municipal councils] at district headquarters or the Tahsildar or the person performing the duties of the Tahsildar for the time being ⁷ [or any other person not disqualified for being aCouncillor] in the case of other ⁶ [municipal councils] shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in the rules or orders issuedthereunder, perform the functions of the president.

(6) Every president who, for a period exceeding two months and everyvice-president who for a period exceeding one month, absents himself from the ⁶ [municipal area] in such manner as to be unable to perform his duties as such president or vice-president, shall cease to be president or vice-president, unless leave so to absent himself has been granted by the municipal council. The question whether a vacancy has arisen under this sub-section shall be decided by the Deputy Commissioner.

(7) Leave under sub-section (6) shall not be granted for a periodexceeding six months. Whenever leave is granted to a president and the office of the vice-president is vacant, the vacancy in the office of the president

shall be filled up by election by the municipal council from among the ⁶ [elected councillors] within such period and in such manner as may be prescribed. ⁵ [x x x] When leave is granted to a vice-president or when the vice-president is acting for the president, the vacancy in the office of the vice-president may be filled up by election of some other ⁶ [elected councillor] thereto.

(8) If a vice-president of a municipal council is elected ⁵ [x x x] as president of the municipal council, he shall be deemed to have vacated his office as vice-president.

(9) Every president and every vice-president of a municipal council shallforthwith be deemed to have vacated his office if a resolution expressing want of confidence in him is passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total number of councillors at a special general meeting convened for the purpose:

Provided that no such resolution shall be moved unless notice of the resolution is signed by not less than one-third of the total number of councillors and at least ten days' notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution:

Provided further that where a resolution expressing want of confidence in any president or vice-president has been considered and negatived by a municipal council, a similar resolution in respect of the same president or vice-president shall not be given notice of or moved within one year from the date of the decision of the municipal council.

(10) Every president and vice-president shall, ⁸ [x x x], be removable from his office as such president or vice-president by the Government for misconduct in the discharge of his duties or for neglect of or incapacity to perform his duties or if he is unable to pay ⁹ [dues he owes to the Municipal Council or has suffered an order for commitment to civil prison for nonpayment of any decretal debt], and a president and vice-president so removed who does not cease to be a councillor under sub-section (2) of section 41, shall not be eligible for re-election as president or vice-president during the remainder of his term of office of councillor specified in section 18.

⁷ [Provided that no such order shall be made except after the president or the Vice-President has been given an opportunity for submitting explanations.]

⁸ [Explanation.--x x x]

6 [(11) Save as otherwise provided under this Act, the President and Vice President shall hold office for a period of thirty months from the date of their election, provided that in the meantime they do not cease to becouncillors.]

(12) In the event of the non-acceptance of office, death, resignation or removal from office of a president or vice-president or of his election being void, or of his becoming incapable of acting in such office or having ceased to be acouncillor, previous to the expiry of his term of office as president or vice-president, the vacancy shall be filled up ⁶ [by election], in accordance with the provisions of the foregoing sub-sections ⁵ [x x x].

⁹ [(13) The President and the Vice-President may receive out of the Municipal Fund such monthly allowances, not exceeding rupees two hundred, as the Government may, from time to time, fix and different rates may be fixed for different municipal councils.

(14) The Municipal Council shall place at the disposal of the President annually such sum not exceeding one thousand rupees as may be determined by it; by way of sumptuary allowance.]

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1. Substituted by Act 36 of 1994 w.e.f. 1.1.1996 by notification. Text of the notification is at page 895.

2. Inserted by Act 36 of 1994 w.e.f. 1.1.1996.

3. Inserted by Act 24 of 1995 w.e.f. 26.9.1995.

4. Inserted by Act 83 of 1976 w.e.f. 8.12.1976 and omitted by Act 36 of 1994 w.e.f. 1.1.1996.

5. Omitted by Act 36 of 1994 w.e.f. 1.1.1996.

6. Substituted by Act 36 of 1994 w.e.f. 1.1.1996.

7. Inserted by Act 83 of 1976 w.e.f. 8.12.1976.

8. Omitted by Act 83 of 1976 w.e.f. 8.12.1976.

9. Substituted by Act 83 of 1976 w.e.f. 8.12.1976.