Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Popat S/o Bajirao Gaikwad, was an elected member of the Gram Panchayat of Nithurd, Taluka Majalgaon, District Beed. The first respondent, Dinkar S/o Bhagwanrao Gaikwad, filed a complaint seeking the petitioner's disqualification under Section 16(2) of the Bombay Village Panchayat Act, 1958. The Additional Collector, Beed, passed an order dated 01.02.2011 disqualifying the petitioner. The petitioner appealed to the Additional Commissioner, Aurangabad, who confirmed the disqualification by order dated 28.12.2011. Aggrieved, the petitioner filed the present writ petition. The core legal issue was whether the disqualification order was valid when the petitioner was not afforded a personal hearing as required under Section 16(2) of the Act. The petitioner argued that the proceedings were conducted without giving him an opportunity of being heard, violating principles of natural justice. The respondents contended that the petitioner had been given sufficient opportunity. The High Court examined the language of Section 16(2), which states that the Collector shall, after making such inquiry as he deems necessary and after giving the member an opportunity of being heard, decide the question. The court held that the requirement of personal hearing is mandatory and not directory. Since the petitioner was not heard personally, the orders of disqualification were unsustainable. The court allowed the writ petition, quashed the impugned orders, and directed that the petitioner be reinstated as a member of the Gram Panchayat.
Headnote
A) Constitutional Law - Natural Justice - Personal Hearing - Section 16(2) of the Bombay Village Panchayat Act, 1958 - The petitioner, an elected member of a Gram Panchayat, was disqualified by the Additional Collector without being given a personal hearing. The appellate authority confirmed the order. The High Court held that the requirement of personal hearing under Section 16(2) is mandatory and its violation renders the disqualification order invalid. The impugned orders were quashed and the petition was allowed. (Paras 1-5)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the order of disqualification passed under Section 16(2) of the Bombay Village Panchayat Act, 1958, without affording a personal hearing to the petitioner, is sustainable in law.
Final Decision
The writ petition is allowed. The impugned orders dated 01.02.2011 and 28.12.2011 are quashed and set aside. The petitioner is entitled to be reinstated as a member of the Gram Panchayat.
Law Points
- Natural justice
- personal hearing
- disqualification of elected member
- Bombay Village Panchayat Act
- 1958
- Section 16(2)
- mandatory requirement
- violation of principles of natural justice
