(1.) The petitioner no.1 is a lady Sarpanch of Amarpur (Kathi) Village Panchayat, Taluka Mendarda, District Junagadh and petitioner no.2 is Upsarpanch. and other petitioners are the members of the said Panchayat. They have prayed for issuance of appropriate writ, directions and orders invoking jurisdiction of this Court, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
(2.) In this petition the petitioners have challenged , inter alia, the legality and validity and especially the propriety of the order dated 30.11.2002 passed by the respondent no.1 in exercise of the powers under section 253 of the Gujarat Panchayats Act 1993 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act) communicated to her by service on 15.1.2003 dissolving the Amarpur (Kathi) Village Panchayat. Copy of this order is at Annexure-A to the petition. Copy of the letter dated 8.1.2003 to which order dated 30.11.2002 was attached and communicated to the petitioners by RPAD is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure-B to the petition. The document at Annexure-C is the xerox copy of the envelope sent/dispatched by RPAD on 8.2.3004 and the petitioners have stated on oath that the same was received on 15.1.2003. This statement needs to be appreciated in the light of the 3 intervening holidays viz. 11th and 12th January 2003 respectively being Second Saturday and Sunday and 14th January 2003 being Makarshankranti, a holiday declared by the State Government. The petitioners have also challenged the letter dated 30.11.2002 whereby the authority (Respondent no.1) appointed Administrator for the said Panchayat and the Notification allegedly issued by the respondents on 30.11.2002 . The Circle Inspector, Mendarda has been appointed as Administrator under the said order. According to the petitioners that action of the respondents is not only of lack of bonafides but it also smells malafides and passing of these orders and the consequential action taken by the authority are nothing but absolute colourable exercise of power, not only under political pressure and use of office in highly unconstitutional and arbitrary manner. It is also the say of the petitioners that the political vendetta has resulted into mechanical exercise of powers without application of mind on the part of the respondent no.1. The order dissolving village Panchayats passed by the respondent no.1 was, for the first time dispatched on 8.1.2003 i.e. after almost one month and 8 days. The petitioners have produced the relevant document including the Notification published with the petition.
(3.) In order to appreciate the say of the petitioners, the facts in brief, may be stated.