Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Shivaji Manohar Kale, was elected as a member and later as Sarpanch of Asegaon Gram Panchayat. Respondent No. 4 filed a complaint alleging that the petitioner was working as an Assistant Teacher in a school run by Mukteshwar Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, which receives aid from Zilla Parishad, and that he had not obtained prior permission from the management. The Additional Collector, by order dated 30/12/2010, held the petitioner disqualified under Section 14(i) of the Bombay Village Panchayat Act, 1958 and Rule 42(2) of the M.E.P.S. Rules. The petitioner's appeal to the Additional Commissioner was dismissed on 4/5/2011. Aggrieved, the petitioner filed the present writ petition. The petitioner argued that Rule 42(2) of the M.E.P.S. Rules had been struck down by a Division Bench of this Court in Bombay University and College Teachers' Union v. State of Maharashtra, 1990 (2) Bom.C.R. 324. Further, he contended that he had obtained due permission from the management, and that he was neither a servant of the Government nor of a local authority, relying on Rangnath Sitaram Yerawar v. V.N. Muley, 1992 (1) Mh.L.J. 853 and Bhagwan Mirkad v. State of Maharashtra (W.P. No. 6481 of 2007). The Court analyzed that Section 14(i) of the Act disqualifies a person who is a servant of the Government or a local authority. The school where the petitioner worked is run by a trust and receives aid, but the school itself is not a local authority. The Zilla Parishad, though a local authority, is not the employer of the petitioner. Therefore, the petitioner is not a servant of the Government or a local authority. The Court also noted that Rule 42(2) of the M.E.P.S. Rules has been struck down and cannot be invoked. The Bombay Village Panchayat Act is a complete code, and other Acts cannot be imported for disqualification. The Court allowed the writ petition, set aside the orders of the Additional Collector and Additional Commissioner, and held that the petitioner is not disqualified.
Headnote
A) Bombay Village Panchayat Act - Disqualification - Section 14(i) - Teacher in Aided School - The petitioner, an assistant teacher in a school run by a trust and receiving aid from Zilla Parishad, was disqualified as Sarpanch under Section 14(i) of the Bombay Village Panchayat Act, 1958. The Court held that a teacher in an aided school is not a servant of the Government or a local authority, as the school is not a local authority and the teacher is not in government service. The disqualification under Section 14(i) does not apply. (Paras 1-6) B) M.E.P.S. Rules - Rule 42(2) - Ultra Vires - The authorities relied on Rule 42(2) of the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1981 to disqualify the petitioner. The Court noted that this Rule has been struck down by a Division Bench of this Court in Bombay University and College Teachers' Union v. State of Maharashtra, 1990 (2) Bom.C.R. 324. Hence, the Rule cannot be invoked. (Para 4) C) Bombay Village Panchayat Act - Complete Code - Import of Other Acts - The Court held that the Bombay Village Panchayat Act, 1958 is a complete code in itself regarding disqualifications. When the Act does not prescribe a ground of disqualification, other Acts cannot be imported or taken aid of to disqualify a person. The petitioner could not be disqualified merely because he was an assistant teacher. (Para 4)
Issue of Consideration
Whether a teacher working in a school run by a trust and receiving grant-in-aid from Zilla Parishad is a 'servant of the Government' or 'servant of a local authority' within the meaning of Section 14(i) of the Bombay Village Panchayat Act, 1958, and whether Rule 42(2) of the M.E.P.S. Rules can be invoked for disqualification.
Final Decision
Writ petition allowed. The impugned orders dated 30/12/2010 passed by the Additional Collector and dated 4/5/2011 passed by the Additional Commissioner are quashed and set aside. It is held that the petitioner is not disqualified.
Law Points
- Disqualification under Section 14(i) of Bombay Village Panchayat Act
- 1958 applies only to government servants or servants of local authority
- not to teachers in aided schools
- Rule 42(2) of M.E.P.S. Rules struck down as ultra vires
- Bombay Village Panchayat Act is a complete code and other Acts cannot be imported for disqualification
