RUPARELIA PRAMODRAI MANILAL Vs. DEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONER GUJARAT STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a strange petition depicting how inefficient our public servants and administration have become making all of us hang our heads in shame. The petitioner claims to be an Upsarpanch of one Babra gram panchayat. He is challenging Governments two orders one at annexure G issued by the Development Commissioner Gujarat State respondent No. 1 herein on 12-4-1979 followed by his subsequent notification published in the Govt. Gazette dated 7-6-1979 appointing the Talati-cum-Mantri as the administrator of the two different grams brought into existence by annexure G.

(2.) The facts require to be closely noted. Till April 1979 there was in existence a Babra Gram Panchayat of area consisting of the areas of two revenue villages viz. Babra having population of 9734 and Amarpur having population of 1584. As a matter of fact these two areas of Babra and Amarpur are contiguous and can be said as one unit but for the fact of 25 to 40 Amreli road running through them and making them two separate entities. However the fact remains that in the revenue record there are two villages Babra and Amarpur. In the year 1977 a move was brought to disintegrate that composite area of Babra Gram Panchayat but the record bears out that the Babra Gram Panchayat opposed the said proposal by its resolution dated 29-9-1977 and then the District Panchayat by its resolution at Annexure D dated 23-8-1917 dis-approved the move. The administrative officer of the District Panchayat the D. D. O. sent his communication Annex. H dated 7-10-1977 informing the Development Commissioner that as the distance between these two sites of Babra and Amarpur was not the standard measure of 3 Kms. the move of segregating the two was not proper. The Development Commissioner the exercises the power of the Government under sections 9 298 and 308 of the Gujarat Panchayats Act took a decision on 16-3-1978 at annexure D-1 to the effect that the two local areas did not require to be bifurcated. The matter ordinarily should have rested there but the local M.L.A. who appears to have been behind the move called on the Development Commissioner somewhere in December 1978 and so the Development Commissioner again revived that interred topic and revived the problem by writing a communication at annexure E to the District Development Officer requiring him to elaborate whether the areas of Babra and Amarpur were two separate revenue villages or not. What happened thereafter is not known but the affidavit of the Development Commissioner shows that he had conducted some on the spot inquiries and was satisfied about the necessity of the proposed bifurcation. All this culminated in to the impugned Resolution at annexure G dated 12-4-1979. The said annexure G makes it amply clear that the area of Babra Gram Panchayat was sought to be divided into two independent areas by exclusion of Amarpur from the composite unit and the proposal was to establish two Gram Panchayats. I emphasise this because the contention of the petitioner which I shall presently note would ultimately be repelled on the ground of this particular emphasis. After issuance of the said notification at annex G the office of the Development Commissioner went into hibernation. In the meantime the Collector had notified election for that composite Babra Gram Panchayat. The election programme is to be found at Annexure F. The Elections were notified to be intended to take place on 14-6-1979 and the result was to be declared on the following date. The office of the Development Commissioner on the one hand and the office of the Deputy Collector on the other manned by salaried employees concerned more with pay packets at the close of the month did not work in co-ordination. On this side the Deputy Collector notified the election programme for the composite Babra Gram Panchayat and on the other side the Development Commissioner on 7-6-1979 issued a notification. It is the Gazette part I-A central Section dated 7-7-1979 where the notification by the Development Commissioner as the delegate of the Government mentions that the new grams formed pursuant to the notification at annexure G shall be known as Babra Gram Panchayat and Amarpur Gram Panchayat and the administrator was appointed who was none other than the Talati-cum- Mantri of the Babra Gram Panchayat.

(3.) The petitioner came to be elected as the upsarpanch of the Panchayat as its meeting held on 7-7-1979 and he took over the charge also as such. Then came the bolt from the blue viz. the administrator seeking to dislodge him and the sarpanch other members from their seats. The Sarpanch who was threatened to be unseated rushed to the Civil Court whereas the upsarpanch knocked the doors of this Court with the hope to undo the development Commissioners decision at annexure C.