SOMAPPA Vs. DIVISIONAL COMM ISSIONER GULBARGA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is by the former Chairman, Chalgera Village Panchayat in Kustagi Taluk of Raichur District. He was removed from the office of the Chairman by an order dt. 1st March, 1982. The order came to be passed by the Asst. Commissioner, Lingasugar, Raichur Dist. who is the 2nd respondent herein. The ground for removal of the Chairman (petitioner) was that he mis-utilised the funds allotted to the Panchayat, in that, the funds sactioned for the construction of Majiges or godowns were utilised for construction of the Village Panchayat building. He was issuedi with a show cause notice as to why he should not be removed on account of certain charges indicated in the show cause notice. There were as many as five separate charges.

(2.) The first one related to withdrawal of a sum of Rupees 12,000 in ten instalments from the R.D.C.C Bank Kustagi in his individual capacity without the signature of the Secretary of the Village Panchayat. The, second charge related to the fact that the amount kept in the R.D.C.C. Bank was specifically deposited in the Bank for utilisation for construction of revenue yielding buildings in the Panchayat area to augment the revenue of the Panchayat and the same had been utilised for expenditure on non-revenue yielding buildings. The third charge was that the amounts in the Bank were withdrawn on different dates without the knowledge of the Village Panchayat Committee and its Secretary and not entered in the cash book. The next charge related to non-furnishing of explanation when the Chief Executive Officer of the Taluk Development Board called for his explanation in that behalf.

(3.) The 5th charge related to the fact that he had mis-appropriatedl the Panchayat amounts and therefore, a proposal was made to remove him from the Chairman-ship as well as the membership of the Panchayat Committee. It was also proposed that the amounts mis-appropriated by him should be recovered as arrears of land revenue. To these five charges, the petitioner gave his explanation stating that he was no guided properly by the secretary of the Panchayat and that he utilised the amount meant for construction of godowns only for the construction of the Village Panchayat building in accordance with the resolution passed by the Village Panchayat at its meeting held on 13.4.1981 arid therefore, he had not committed any act of misconduct which entailed; removal from his office. The Asst. Commissioner took the explanaon offered as an admission of the main charge of mis-utilisation of funds and also proceeded to dis-believe the petitioner's explanation that he had spent money for the construction of the Village Panchayat building on account of the fact that the Village Panchayat building was sanctioned by the Taluk Development Board and the work was executed departmentally through the Block Development officer. No material appears to have been appended to the explanation which supported the petitioner's case that he had spent amounts which he had drawn from the R.D.C.C. Bank of Kustagi for the purpose of disbursing the costs in regard to the construction of the. Village Panchayat building. Therefore, he came to the conclusion that the petitioner had temporarily misappropriated the money for a purpose other than that for which it was put in the Bank. In that circumstance, he held the petitioner guilty of mis-conduct and removed him from his office passing the following order :