Chapter I PRELIMINARY

(-1) This Act may be called the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. (1)It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala except the areas which are within the limits of the Cantonments, Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils, Municipal Corporations and the Industrial areas of the State. (2)It shall come into force at once.

(i)‘article’ means an article of the Constitutions of India. (ii)‘Block Panchayat’ means a block panchayat constituted at intermediate level under clause (b) of sub-section, section 4; (iii)‘building’ includes a house, out-house, stable latrine, shed, hut and any other structure, whether of masonry, bricks, wood, mud, metal or any other material whatsoever: (iv)‘bye-election’ means an election other than general election.

(v)‘candidate’ means a person who has been or claims to have been duly

nominated as a candidate at any election: (vi)‘casual vacancy’ means a vacancy occurring otherwise than by efflux of time:

1[“ (vi) a. ‘Committee’ means - a standing committee constituted under this Act or any other committee constituted by the panchayat for any specific purpose. (vii)‘constituency’ means the territorial area (by whatever name called) for the purpose of election of a member to a Panchayat at any level: (viii)‘corrupt practice’ means any of the practices specified in section 120: (ix)‘cost’ in relation to an election petition means all costs, changes and expenses of, or incidental to, the trial of, an election petition; (x)‘district’ means a revenue district; (xi)‘district election officer’ means an officer designated or nominated by the State Election Commission under sub-section (1) of section 13; (xii)‘district Panchayat’ means a district panchayat constituted at the district level under clause (e) of sub-section (1) of section 4; (xiii)‘district panchayat area’ means the rural areas within a district to be notified by the Government for the purpose of clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 4. (xiv)‘election’ means an election to fill a seat in any of the constituencies in a Panchayat at any level; (xv)‘elector’ in relation to a constituency (by whatever name called) means a person whose name is entered in the electoral roll of that constituency, for the time being in force, and who is not subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 17; (xvi)‘electoral right’ means the right of a person to stand or not to stand as or to withdraw or not to withdraw from being, a candidate or to vote at an election; (xvii)‘general election’ means the election held under this Act for the constitution or reconstitution of at panchayat after the expiry of its term or otherwise; (xviii)‘Government’ means the government of Kerala; (xix)‘house’ means a building or hut used or fit to be used as a residence or otherwise having separate principal entrance from the common way and includes any shop, workshop or warehouse or any building, used for parking vehicles or as a bus stand. (xx)‘hut’ means any building which is constructed principally of wood, mud, leaves, grass or thatch and includes any temporary structure of whatever size or any small building of whatever materials made, which a village panchayat may declare to be a hut for the purpose of this Act; (xxi)‘intermediate level’ means a level between the village and district levels specified by the Governor under clause (c) of article 246; [ (xxii) ‘Local Authority’ or Local self-Government institution means, a Panchayat at any level constituted under section 4 of this Act or a Municipality constituted under section 4 of the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 (20 of 1994]. Inserted by Act 13 of 1999.

(xxiii)‘market’ means any place set apart for ordinarily or periodically used for the assembling of persons for the sale or purchase of grain, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish or other perishable articles of food or for the sale, or purchase of live-stock or poultry, or of any agricultural or industrial produce for any raw or manufactured products or any other articles or commodity necessary for the convenience of life provided that a single shop or a group of shops not being more than six in number shall not be deemed a market; (xxiv)‘member’ means the member of a Panchayat at any level; (xxv)‘Panchayat’ means a village panchayat, a block panchayat or a district panchayat. (xxvi)‘Panchayat area’ means the area within the territorial jurisdiction of a panchayat; (xxvii)‘Political party’ means a political party registered under section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (Central Act 43 of 1951);

(xxviii)‘polling stations’ - means any place appointed for holding election to a

Panchayat; (xxix)‘population’ means the population assessed at the last census the relevant details of which have been officially published; (xxx)‘prescribed’ means prescribed by the rules made under this Act; (xxxi)‘President’ or ‘Vice-President’ means the President or the Vice-President of a Village panchayat or block panchayat or district panchayat as the case may be; (xxxii)‘private market’ means any market other than a Public Market; (xxxiii)‘public market’ means any market owned, constructed, repaired or maintained by a village panchayat; (xxxiv)Public holiday’ means any day which is declared as a holiday by the Government; (xxxv)‘public road’ means any street, road, square, court, alley, passage, cart-tract, foot-path or riding path, over which the public have right of way, whether a thoroughfare or not, and includes, - (a)The road-way over any public bridge or causeway; (b)The footway attached to any such road, public bridge or causeway; and (c)The drains attached to any such road, public bridge or causeway, and the land whether covered or not by any pavement, verandah or other structure which lies on either side of the road-way upto the boundaries of the adjacent property whether the property to private property or property belonging to the State or Central government; (xxii)‘qualifying date in relation to the preparation or revision of every electoral roll means the 1 st day of January of the year in which it is so prepared or revised; (xxiii)residence’ or to ‘reside’, a person is deemed to have his ‘residence’ or to ‘reside’ to any house if he some times uses any portion thereof as a sleeping apartment as of right and a person is not deemed to cease to reside in any such house or portion thereof merely because he is absent from it or has elsewhere another dwelling in which he resides if he is at liberty to return to such house at any time and has not abandoned his intention of returning;

(xxiv)‘returned candidate’ means a candidate whose name has been published under section 83; (xxv)‘Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes’ shall have the same meaning as in the Constitution of India; (xxvi)‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Village Panchayat or a block Panchayat or a District Panchayat as the case may be; (xxvii)‘State’ means the State of Kerala; (xxviii)‘State Election Commission’ means the State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor under article 243 K; (xxix)‘Taluk means a revenue Taluk; (xxx)‘Village’ means a Village specified by the Governor under clause (g) of article 243; (xxxi)‘village Officer’ means the ‘officer in charge of a revenue village; (xxxii)‘village panchayat’ means a village panchayat constituted for a village or for a group of village under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 4; (xxxiii)‘water course’ includes any river, stream or channel whether natural or artificial; (xxxiv)‘year’ means the financial year; (xxxv)words and expression used but not defined in this Act, but defined in the Constitution of India shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Constitution of India.