P J PETER Vs. ELAMKUNNAPUZHA GRAMA PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE prayer in this writ petition is to quash Exts.P8 to P11 and to direct the Committee of the 1st respondent to conduct a fresh hearing and pass fresh orders on the appeal filed by the petitioner in compliance with the directions contained in Exts.P1 and P2, the order passed by the Tribunal for Local Self Government Institutions in Appeal No.575/05 and WP(C) No. 10897/07 respectively.

(2.) THE facts of the case are that the Secretary of the Panchayat issued notice dated 25/8/01 directing the petitioner to stop further construction and demolish the construction already made by him. Aggrieved by that notice, on 25/8/01 itself, petitioner filed an appeal to the President of the Panchayat. In OP 26124/01 filed by the petitioner, this Court directed the Panchayat to dispose of the appeal. In the purported compliance of that judgment, the Secretary himself decided the appeal by his order dated 24/1/02.

(3.) /5/07 passed Ext.P10 resolution authorising the Secretary to hear the petitioner and to report the matter to the Committee. Accordingly, the Secretary heard the petitioner on 30/6/07 and reported the matter to the Committee, which is evident from Ext.P11 resolution of the Committee passed on 14/6/07. Based on the above, the Panchayat issued Ext.P8 order dated 22/6/07 confirming the provisional order dated 25/8/01 which was the subject matter of the appeal before the Tribunal. It is in these circumstances, the writ petition has been filed. 5. The appeal against the provisional order of 25/8/01 was filed before the Committee of the Panchayat. That appeal ought to have been considered by the Committee itself. The Tribunal and this Court required the Committee to consider the appeal and decide on the same as per Exts.P1 and P2 referred to above. However, Exts.P10 and P11 resolutions referred to above show that instead of the Panchayat Committee hearing the petitioner, it authorised the Secretary against whose notice the appeal itself was filed, to hear the petitioner.