High Court
Case Details
Court No. - 33 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 3192 of 2022 Petitioner :- Bal Govind Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Vijay Prakash Chaturvedi Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Pankaj Kumar Gupta Hon'ble Mrs. Sangeeta Chandra,J.
Legal Reasoning
(1) Heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. (2) This petition has been filed by the petitioner for the following main prayer:- "(i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus commanding the Respondent Authorities to finalize the claim of the petitioner for appointment on the post of Panchayat Assistant Accountant cum Data Entry Operator according to open meeting of Gram Panchayat- Bakrahuwa, dated 03.09.2021." (3) This writ petition was taken up earlier by this Court on two occasions. On 26.04.2022 this Court passed a detailed order. The relevant extract of such order is being quoted hereinbelow:- "In pursuance of the Government Order dated 25th July, 2021, a vacancy of the post of Panchayat Assistant/Accountant-cum-Data Entry Operator was notified on 30th July/1st August, 2021 inviting applications from the prospective candidates, who are resident of the concerned Gram Panchayat, within fifteen days from the date of the said notification. Pursuant to the said notification, the petitioner applied on 4th August, 2021. Total nine candidates including the petitioner have applied for the said post. On 3rd September, 2021, a merit list was prepared in which the petitioner was placed at serial no.4. As the candidates, whose names were placed at serial nos. 1 to 3 were not entitled to be selected on the said post as per the Government Order dated 25th July, 2021, the petitioner was selected on the said post but no appointment letter has been issued to him. Therefore, he has filed the present writ petition.
Legal Reasoning
In compliance of the order of the Court dated 14th March, 2022, learned counsel for the State-respondents has received the instructions and a copy of the same has also been placed before this Court, which is taken on record. On the basis of the instructions so received by him, the learned counsel for the State-respondents submits that because Amit Kumar Pandey, whose name was placed at serial no.1 belongs to general category, when as a matter of fact the vacancy in question is within the scheduled caste category, Smt./Kumari Reeta, who name was placed at serial no.2, is resident of another village panchayat after her marriage, and Ms. Kavita Kumari, who name was placed at serial no.3 is the daughter of a member of the concerned Village Panchayat, they have not been selected on the said post, therefore, the petitioner has been selected on the said post and his name has been sent by respondent no.5 to the District Level Committee of which the District Magistrate, Siddhartha Nagar is the Chairman, for approval on the same but the District Level Committee has transmitted the same to respondent no.5 for reconsideration, as the mother of Ms. Kavita Kumari has resigned from the post of member of the Village Panachayat. In view of the aforesaid, this Court finds that after select list was prepared, the District Level Committee cannot transmit the same for reconsideration only on the ground that a member of the village panchayat resigned from her post only after she came to know that her daughter i.e. Ms. Kavita Kumari was not selected on the said post. In such circumstances, this Court has no other option but to direct the District Magistrate, Siddhartha Nagar i.e. respondent no.2 to file his personal affidavit by the next date, explaining as to why the petitioner is not being appointed despite the fact that he has been selected for the said post. It is ordered accordingly. Put up this case on 12th May, 2022 as fresh." (4) In pursuance of such order passed by this Court the District Magistrate Mr. Sanjeev Ranjan filed his personal affidavit on 25.07.2022 wherein he has mentioned that the provision of the Government Order dated 25.07.2021 by which a District Level Committee presided over by the District Magistrate concerned has only to supervise the selection process which is actually to be carried out at the Gram Panchayat Level. As per Clause 10 (6) of the Government Order all Papers/Proposal sent by the Gram Panchayat have to be examined for their propriety by the District Level Committee presided by the District Magistrate as to whether the selected candidates have due qualifications and are eligible to be selected and appointed as Gram Panchayat Sahayak/Data Entry Operator. Such District Level Committee cannot suggest the name of any candidate on its own but if it found that there is a discrepancy in the selection and a selected candidate does not hold qualification or is otherwise ineligible as per the Government Order, it can remit the matter to the Gram Panchayat to consider and pass a fresh resolution. The Gram Sabha Bakrahuwa, Vikas Khand Jogiya, Tehsil Naugarh, District Siddharth Nagar had initially forwarded a proposal wherein it had suggested that appointment of a candidate placed at sl.no.4 saying that the candidates placed at sl.nos.1, 2 & 3 were ineligible. The candidate at sl.no.1 belongs to a General Category and post was for Scheduled Caste Category. The candidate placed at sl.no.2 was not a resident of Gram Panchayat concerned, and the candidate placed at sl.no.3 was ineligible as her mother was a member of Gram Panchayat. The District Level Committee on examining the papers found that the candidate placed at sl.no.2 Km. Rita had submitted a Domicile Certificate issued by the Competent Authority showing her to be the resident of Gram Sabha concerned and her candidature has been wrongly rejected. Therefore, in terms of Clause 10 (6) of the Government Order dated 25.07.2021 it remitted the matter for reconsideration of the Gram Panchayat. No reconsidered proposal was sent for a long time and in the meantime, the General Assembly Elections came tobe held and after elections were over the then District Magistrate, Siddharth Nagar was transferred and the current District Magistrate took over. After this Court passed the order on 13.05.2022, the current District Magistrate has instituted an Enquiry on 23.05.2022 into matter. (5) When the matter was taken up by this Court again on 04.07.2022 the Court had directed the Standing Counsel to inform the Court as to what decision has been taken by the Enquiry Committee. Today the learned Standing counsel appearing for the Gaon Sabha has produced before this Court detailed instructions sent from the District Panchayat Raj Officer, Siddharth Nagar addressed to the office of Chief Standing Counsel wherein the details of the Select list prepared by the Gram Panchayat has been mentioned in Para-2. The petitioner is placed at sl.no.4 of the said Select List on the basis of marks obtained candidates in their Classes X and XII Examinations. With regard to the candidate placed at sl.no.1 it was undisputed that he belonged to unreserved Category and the post was reserved for Scheduled Caste candidate. With regard to the candidate at sl.no.2 she had been married five years ago and had shifted to her matrimonial home in another Village but in her application she had submitted a Domicile Certificate for Gram Panchayat Bakarhuwa. The Gram Panchayat found the candidate at sl.no.2 not to be eligible as she had been living in her matrimonial home in a different village and hence did not belong to village concerned. The third candidate Kavita Kumari was the daughter of Smt. Urmila the member of the Gram Panchayat and thus she had to be considered ineligible and a proposal was made in favour of the petitioner. The District Level Committee relied upon a Domicile Certificate of the candidate mentioned at sl.no.2 Rita Kumari and had remitted the matter back for reconsideration of a Gram Panchayat and when no recommendation was received for a long time Show Cause Notice was issued to the Gram Pradhan concerned by the District Magistrate under Section 95 (g) of the U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947 In the Enquiry that was instituted by the District Magistrate thereafter all candidates were heard personally by the Enquiry Officer including the Gram Pradhan and the Gram Panchayat Secretary. The candidate at sl.no.3 who was the daughter of Smt. Urmila the Gram Panchayat member had submitted that her mother had already resigned therefore, she should be selected. The petitioner had pointed out that grandfather of candidate placed at sl.no.2 Banshilal was also Gram Panchayat Member and this fact was not disclosed by the Gram Pradhan and the Gram Panchayat Secretary during the Enquiry or even at the time of sending the proposal at the initial stage, hence a Show Cause Notice was issued to the Gram Pradhan and the Gram Panchayat Secretary. (6) This Court finds from a perusal of the instructions sent by the District Panchayat Raj Officer, it is an admitted position that the candidate at sl.no.2 Km. Rita is the grand daughter of Banshilal who is a Gram Panchayat member and the candidate at sl.no.3 Kavita Kumari is the daughter of Smt. Urmila, another Gram Panchayat member who had subsequently resigned. Hence, the candidates place at sl.nos.2 and 3 were disqualified in terms of the Clause 17 of the Government Order dated 25.07.2021 at the initial stage itself and they could not have been allowed to even make their applications. Their candidature could not have been considered at all. However, they were allowed to participate in the selection and were placed in the Select List at sl.nos.2 and 3 on the basis of their marks obtained in Classes X and XII Examinations. Being disqualified ab-initio their candidature was unnecessarily considered by the Gram Panchayat Committee under the dated 25.07.2021 causing Government unnecessary confusion and delay in appointment of Gram Panchayat/Data Entry Operator.
Decision
Order (7) This petition stands allowed with a direction to the Respondents to issue necessary orders engaging the petitioner as Gram Pradhan Sahayak/Data Entry Operator for Gram Panchayat, Bakrahuwa, Vikas Khand Jogiya, Tehsil Naugarh, District Siddharth Nagar within a period of four weeks from the date a certified copy of this order is produced before the Competent Authority in the light of the Enquiry report dated 13.07.2022. (8) The instructions sent by the office of the District Panchayat Raj Officer are kept on record. Order Date :- 28.7.2022 PAL Digitally signed by NARESH PAL Date: 2022.07.29 12:30:47 IST Reason: Location: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad