Manipur (Village Authorities in Hill Areas) Act, 1956
No: 80 Dated: Dec, 22 1956
THE MANIPUR (VILLAGE AUTHORITIES IN HILL AREAS) ACT, 1956
ACT NO. 80 OF 1956
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the constitution and functions of Village Authorities in the hill areas of the Union territory of Manipur.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventh Year of the Republic of India as follow:—
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Manipur (Village Authorities in Hill Areas) Act, 1956.
(2) It extends to the whole of the hill areas of the Union territory of Manipur.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “Chief Commissioner” means the Chief Commissioner of Manipur;
(b) “Deputy Commissioner” means the Deputy Commissioner of Manipur and includes the Additional Deputy commissioner thereof;
(c) “heinous offence” means—
(i) any of the following offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), that is to say, any offence under Chapter VI, rioting, any offence under Chapter XII, murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, grievous hurt, kidnapping or abducting in order to subject a person to slavery, buying or disposing of any person as a slave, habitual dealing in slaves, rape, robbery, dacoity, mischief by fire or explosive substance, and house breaking;
(ii) any offence punishable under the Indian Arms Act, 1878 (11 of 1878); and includes any attempt, preparation or conspiracy to commit, and abetment of, any of the offences specified in sub-clause (i) or sub-clause (ii);
(d) “hill areas” mean such areas in the Hill tracts of the Union territory of Manipur as the Chief Commissioner may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be hill areas;
(e) “legal practitioner” includes a pleader, mukhtar or revenue-agent;
(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act.
CHAPTER II
CONSTITUTION AND FUNCTIONS OF VILLAGE AUTHORITIES
3. Constitution of Village Authorities.—(1) For every village having twenty or more tax-paying houses there shall be a village Authority consisting of—
(a) five members, where the number of tax-paying houses in the village is not less than twenty but is not more than sixty;
(b) seven members, where the number of tax-paying houses in the village is more than sixty but is not more than one hundred;
(c) ten members, where the number of tax-paying houses in the village is more than one hundred but is not more than one hundred and fifty;
(d) twelve members, where the number of tax-paying houses in the village is more than one hundred and fifty.
(2) The Chief Commissioner may, having regard to the general interests of the people of any village as also to the demand, if any, from the people of that village for an elected Village Authority, declare, by notification in the Official Gazette, that the village shall have an elected Village Authority, and thereupon the members of the Village Authority of that village shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder.
(3) Where no declaration under sub-section (2) has been made in relation to any village the members of the Village Authority of that village shall be nominated by the Chief Commissioner.
(4) Where there is a Chief Khulakpa in a village, he shall be the ex officio chairman of the Village Authority of that village; and where there is no such Chief or Khulakpa in the village, the chairman of the village Authority of that village shall be elected by the members of the Village Authority from among themselves.
4. Qualifications for membership of Village Authorities.—A person shall not be qualified to be chosen as a member of a Village Authority unless he— (a) is a citizen of India; (b) is not less than twenty-five years of age; and (c) in the case of membership of an elected Village Authority, is registered in the electoral roll as a voter for the election of a member of the Village Authority.
5. Disqualifications for membership of Village Authorities.—A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of a Village Authority,—
(a) if he is a member of any other Village Authority;
(b) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent authority.
6. Term of office of members of Village Authorities.—The term of office of members of a Village Authority shall be three years from the date appointed for its first meeting.
7. Election of members of Village Authorities.—The election of members of the Village Authority of a village shall be on the basis of adult suffrage, that is to say, every person who is a citizen of India and who is ordinarily resident in the village and is not less than twenty-one years of age on such date as may be fixed by rules made under this Act, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election.
Explanation.—A person shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident in a village if he ordinarily resides in that village or owns, or is in possession of, a dwelling house therein.