Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Laxmi Das Ghosh vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 20 May, 2022
4.
20-05-2022
debajyoti
(Ct. no.06)
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Civil Appellate Jurisdiction
Appellate Side
MAT 609 of 2021
+
IA NO:CAN/1/2021
Laxmi Das Ghosh
Vs.
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Ms. Susmita Saha Dutta,
Mr. Niladri Saha,
Ms. Pallabi Chatterjee
... For the Appellant.
Mr. Lalit Mohan Mahata,
Mr. Prasanta Behari Mahata
... For the State.
Mr. Palash Chandra Podder
... For added Respondent No.5.
By consent of the parties, the appeal and the
application are taken up together for hearing.
This appeal arises out of a judgment and order
dated June 30, 2021 whereby WPA 10808 of 2021 was
dismissed by a learned Single Judge.
The writ petitioner was the Pradhan of No.7 Mohana
Gram Panchayat, Dakshin Dinajpur. Six members of the
said Panchayat signed a notice, original whereof is taken on
record, requisitioning a meeting for removal of the
appellant/writ petitioner as Pradhan. The Prescribed
Authority acted on the basis of such notice. The meeting
was held and the petitioner was removed by a majority of
members.
Challenging the entire process, the writ petitioner
submitted before the learned Single Judge that the notice
signed by the requisitionists was defective and could not
have been acted upon by the Prescribed Authority since the
political affiliation or the independent status of the
requisitionists was not mentioned in the notice. It was
submitted that Section 12(2) of the West Bengal Panchayat
Act, 1973, makes it mandatory for the requisitionists to
mention their party affiliation or independent status.
The learned Judge, however, did not accept the
submission made on behalf of the writ petitioner. The
learned judge held that the Prescribed Authority, upon
receipt of the notice, satisfied himself that the same was in
conformity with the provisions of law and, accordingly,
proceeded to convene the meeting wherein the writ
petitioner was removed. It was further observed in the
order under appeal that the party affiliations of the
requisitionist members were also made known to the
petitioner. The writ petition was dismissed.
We have heard learned counsel for the parties. We
have seen the original notice requisitioning the meeting
wherein the appellant was removed as Pradhan. The same
does not mention the political affiliation or independent
status of the requisitionists. A coordinate Bench, in the
case of Farida Bibi Vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors.,
reported in 2016 (5) CHN (Cal) 258, has clearly held that the
requsitionists, who wish to have a meeting convened for
removal of a Pradhan, must mention their political
affiliation or independent status in the notice requisitioning
the meeting. This is a mandatory statutory requirement. If
such political affiliation or independent status of the
requisitionists is not mentioned in the notice, the notice is
incurably bad and no action can be taken on the basis of
such notice.
In view of the above, we hold that the notice of
requisition in this case was also bad in law and could not
have been acted upon by the Prescribed Authority. All
actions taken pursuant to such notice are bad in law and
set aside, including the meeting and the result of the
meeting dated June 30, 2021. Consequentially, the
removal of the appellant as Pradhan is set aside. This will
not prevent the requsitionists or other members of the
concerned Panchayat from issuing fresh notice
requisitioning fresh meeting for removal of the appellant as
Pradhan of the concerned Gram Panchayat, in accordance
with law.
The appeal and the connected application are
disposed of.
All parties shall act on the server copies of this order
duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.
Urgent photostat certified copies of this order, if
applied for, be supplied to the parties on compliance of
necessary formalities.
(Subhendu Samanta, J.) (Arijit Banerjee, J.)
