GANAPATI Vs. MANDAL PANCHAYAT KAGWAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a plaintiff's revision petition against the order passed on I.A No. Vll in O.S. No. 147/1979 on the file of the Munsiff, Athani in Belgaum District. The suit was originally filed by the Village Panchayat. On the abolition. of Village Panchayat and constitution of Mandal Panchayat under the Karnataka Zilla Parishads, Taluk Panchayat Samithis, Mandal Panchayats and Nyaya Panchayats Act, 1983, it became necessary to bring the Mandal Panchayat on record. Accordingly, it was brought on record with the cause title- Mandal Panchayat Committee. The plaintiff made an application I.A. No. 6 seeking to amend the cause title to read' Mandal Panchayat, Kagwad by its Chairman'. That came to be allowed. But the plaintiff did not carry out the amendment. Instead, he filed I.A. No 7 seeking that cause title should read' Mandal Panchayat, Kagwad by its Secretary That application has been dismissed on the ground that I.A. No. 6 had been allowed.

(2.) There is unnecessarily long order passed by the learned Munsiff dismissing I.A No 7. Clause(x) of sub-rule (iii) of Rule 3 of the Karnataka Mandal Panchayats (Secretary's Powers and Duties) Rules, 1986, provides that the Secretary shall have power to defend any suit or other legal proceedings brought against the Mandal Panchayat. If the amendment sought did no more than bring the cause title in conformity with the statutory Rules, it should have been allowed as a formal amendment not affecting the interests of the parties. By totally misdirecting himself and narrating series of reasons for his conclusions, the learned Judge has erred in exercising his powers. He has failed to permit the amendment to bring the cause title in conformity with the law. It is a clear act of illegality which should be set aside.

(3.) In the result, the impugned order is set aside and application I A. No 7 in the aforementioned original suit is allowed and the amendment is permitted and the cause title shall now read 'defendant-Mandal Panchayat, Kagwad by its Secretary'.