Articles 243C, 243D and 243E of the Constitution of India: Panchayat Composition, Reservation and Duration
Articles 243C, 243D and 243E form part of Part IX of the Constitution of India. They deal respectively with the composition of Panchayats, reservation of seats and offices, and the constitutional duration and election timetable of Panchayats.
Article 243C - Composition of Panchayats
Meaning: Article 243C establishes the constitutional framework for the composition of Panchayats. State Legislatures may make laws on Panchayat composition, but the constitutional requirements in Part IX must be respected.
Clause (1): A State Legislature may provide by law for the composition of Panchayats. As far as practicable, the ratio between the population of the territorial area of a Panchayat and the number of elected seats must be uniform throughout the State.
Clause (2): All seats in a Panchayat are filled by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area. Constituencies are to be arranged so that, as far as practicable, the population-to-seat ratio is uniform throughout that Panchayat area.
Clause (3): State law may provide representation in higher-level Panchayats for Chairpersons of lower-level Panchayats and may also provide representation for specified Members of Parliament and State Legislatures connected with the relevant Panchayat area.
Clause (4): The Chairperson and other members of a Panchayat, whether or not directly elected from territorial constituencies, have the right to vote at Panchayat meetings.
Clause (5): The manner of electing a village-level Panchayat Chairperson is determined by State law. Chairpersons at the intermediate and district levels are elected by and from among the elected members of the Panchayat concerned.
Article 243D - Reservation of Seats in Panchayats
Meaning: Article 243D provides the constitutional rules for reservation in Panchayats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women, while also permitting State Legislatures to provide reservation for backward classes of citizens.
Clause (1): Seats must be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in every Panchayat broadly in proportion to their population in the Panchayat area. Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies.
Clause (2): At least one-third of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes must be reserved for women belonging to those communities.
Clause (3): At least one-third of the total seats filled by direct election in every Panchayat, including the seats reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, must be reserved for women. Such seats may be allotted by rotation.
Clause (4): Offices of Chairpersons at village and other Panchayat levels are reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women in the manner provided by State law. At least one-third of the total offices of Chairpersons at each level must be reserved for women, with rotation among Panchayats.
Clause (5): The reservation covered by clauses (1) and (2), and reservation of Chairperson offices for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under clause (4), is linked to the period specified in Article 334. The constitutional reservation for women is expressly excluded from that cessation rule.
Clause (6): State Legislatures are not prevented from providing reservation of seats or Chairperson offices in Panchayats for backward classes of citizens.
Article 243E - Duration of Panchayats and Election Timeline
Meaning: Article 243E protects the normal five-year tenure of a Panchayat and sets constitutional deadlines for elections when its term expires or it is dissolved earlier.
Clause (1): Every Panchayat continues for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting, unless it is sooner dissolved under a law in force.
Clause (2): An amendment to an existing law cannot dissolve a functioning Panchayat before the end of the five-year duration specified in clause (1).
Clause (3): An election to constitute a Panchayat must be completed before expiry of its normal term. If a Panchayat is dissolved earlier, the election must ordinarily be completed before six months expire from the date of dissolution. If the unexpired remainder of the original term is less than six months, an election for that short remainder is not constitutionally required under this clause.
Clause (4): A Panchayat constituted after premature dissolution does not receive a fresh five-year term merely because it has been reconstituted. It continues only for the remainder of the term that the dissolved Panchayat would have served.