UMABEN PALABHAI SANKHAT Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is filed for the purpose of seeking following reliefs:-

(2.) The case of the petitioner is that the petitioner is an elected Sarpanch of Vadviyada Gram Panchayat, Taluka Gir Gadhda, District Gir-Somnath in the local panchayat elections which were held in December 2016. The District Development Officer, Gir Gadhda, initiated the proceedings under Section 57(1) of the Gujarat Panchayat Act ('the Act' for short) against the present petitioner by issuing a show cause notice to the effect that the petitioner failed to remove the encroachment made by the encroachers and thereby failed to discharge and perform his duties as a Sarpanch in the Gram Panchayat. This notice has been effectively replied, according to the petitioner, pointing out the facts regarding the proceedings of the meeting dated 21.9.2019 and 23.12.2019. However, ignoring the same, on 29.2.2020, an order of removal came to be passed by the District Development Officer, which came to be received by the petitioner through Registered Post A.D. on or about 6.3.2020.

(3.) It is the case of the petitioner that on account of the lockdown throughout the country, the petitioner could not prefer an appeal before the Additional Development Commissioner under Section 57(3) of the Act, but had handed over the papers to the lawyer concerned at Ahmedabad. However, somehow, the appeal and the stay application was managed to be preferred before the Additional Development Commissioner under Section 57(3) of the Act on 30.5.2020. When a request was made to hear the stay application by the concerned advocate of the petitioner, it was informed that the Additional Development Commissioner is on deputation as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at the office of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for Covid-19 crisis by virtue of the order of the State Government dated 22.5.2020 and as such, it was not possible for him to hear the stay application. As a result of this, when the Appellate Authority was not available to consider the request of the petitioner, left with no alternate, the petitioner was constrained to rush down to this Court by way of the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.