ISHWARBHAI CHUNILAL RATHWA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for following reliefs:-

(2.) The case put up by the petitioner is that the petitioner was an elected candidate for the post of Sarpanch of Uchapan Gram Panchayat and came to be elected on the said post on 11/5/2017. Since then, the petitioner was discharging the duties as Sarpanch of the village. One application was filed on 5/9/2020 against the petitioner alleging certain misconduct in discharge of the duty. As a result of this, according to the petitioner, the District Development Officer had constituted a Committee on 10/9/2020. Thereafter, the Taluka Development Officer had prepared a report upon such inquiry on 12/11/2020 and thereafter, further report was also submitted by Niyamak Jilla Vikas Gramya Agency and after considering the same, the petitioner was served with a show cause notice on 7/1/2021 calling upon the petitioner as to why he should not be removed under Sec. 57 of the Gujarat Panchayat Act for such irregularities and circumstances which are mentioned in the show cause notice. This show cause notice, according to the petitioner, is replied on 15/1/2021 and then in exercise of the power under Sec. 57(1) of the Gujarat Panchayat Act, the competent authority has passed an order on 13/5/2021, removing the petitioner from the post of Sarpanch.

(3.) Feeling aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the said order, the petitioner preferred an appeal under Sec. 57(3) of the Act before the Appellate Authority and the Appellate Authority, viz. Additional Development Commissioner, Gujarat State, has also dismissed the appeal and confirmed the order passed by the District Development Officer. As a result of this, the petitioner came to be removed from the post of Sarpanch and against these two concurrent findings of fact and the orders passed by the authorities below, the petitioner has invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court by raising multiple contentions.