Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Kishor Baburao Wadaskar Prasad, was elected Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat Panchala in September 2015. The Gram Panchayat consisted of seven members. One member, elected from a ward reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, failed to submit her caste validity certificate. Five members submitted a motion of no-confidence against the petitioner under Section 35 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959. In a special meeting held on 11/09/2018, the motion was passed with five members voting in favour and two against. The petitioner appealed to the Collector under Section 35(3-B), who dismissed the appeal on 21/02/2019, holding that the motion was passed by 2/3rd majority and was valid. The petitioner then filed a writ petition. The legal issue was whether the motion was valid given that one member was deemed disqualified for not producing a caste validity certificate, and what majority was required. The petitioner argued that the disqualified member was not entitled to sit and vote, so the total number of members entitled to sit and vote was six, and the motion required a majority of not less than 3/4th of those six, i.e., five votes. Since the motion was passed by exactly five votes, it did not meet the 3/4th requirement. The respondents argued that the motion was passed by 2/3rd majority and was valid. The court analyzed Section 35(3) and its proviso, which states that a member who fails to submit a caste validity certificate is deemed disqualified and not entitled to sit or vote. The court held that the total number of members entitled to sit and vote was six, and the motion required a majority of not less than 3/4th, which is five votes. However, the motion was passed by exactly five votes, which is 5/6th, not 3/4th. The court quashed the no-confidence motion and the Collector's order, allowing the writ petition.
Headnote
A) Panchayati Raj - No-Confidence Motion - Disqualification of Member - Section 35(3) Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959 - The petitioner, elected Sarpanch, challenged a no-confidence motion passed with five votes in favour and two against. One member, elected from a reserved ward, had not submitted her caste validity certificate and was deemed disqualified under the Act. The court held that such a member is not entitled to sit and vote, and the motion must be passed by a majority of not less than 3/4th of the total number of members entitled to sit and vote. Since the total number of such members was six, the required majority was five, but the motion was passed by only five votes, which is exactly 5/6th, not 3/4th. The court quashed the motion and the Collector's order. (Paras 2-6) B) Panchayati Raj - Deemed Disqualification - Caste Validity Certificate - Section 35(3) Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959 - A member elected from a reserved category who fails to submit a caste validity certificate is deemed disqualified and cannot sit or vote in any meeting of the Gram Panchayat. The court relied on the proviso to Section 35(3) which states that the total number of members entitled to sit and vote excludes those disqualified. (Paras 4-5)
Issue of Consideration
Whether a motion of no-confidence passed with the participation of a member who was deemed disqualified for not submitting a caste validity certificate is valid, and what is the requisite majority under Section 35(3) of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959.
Final Decision
The writ petition is allowed. The order dated 21/02/2019 passed by the Collector, Chandrapur, and the no-confidence motion passed against the petitioner on 11/09/2018 are quashed and set aside. Rule is made absolute in those terms. No order as to costs.
Law Points
- No-confidence motion
- Sarpanch
- Gram Panchayat
- Disqualification of member
- Caste validity certificate
- Majority requirement
- Section 35(3) Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act 1959
- Deemed disqualification
- Entitled to sit and vote
