C. KANAGAVELU Vs. TAHSILDAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WP . No 624 of 1968 is filed by a member of the Panchayat for the issue of a writ of mandamus directing the Tahsildar, Cuddalore (first respondent) to hold a special meeting of the Kurinjipadi Panchayat under the provisions of Section 152 of the Madras Panchayat Act XXXV of 1958. W.P. No. 1165 of 1968 is filed by the same member for the issue of a writ of certiorari to call for the records of the Collector of South Arcot (first respondent) relating to P.D. 2/1463 -68, dated 10th January, 1968 and quash the same.

(2.) THE petitioner and eight other members of the Panchayat gave a notice of 'no -confidence' motion against the President of the Panchayat and delivered it to the Tahsildar of Cuddalore on 14th December, 1967. The Tahsildar by his notice dated 2nd January, 1968 intimated that a special meeting of the Panchayat will be held on 18th January, 1968 at 4 p.m. in the Panchayat office building. It is stated by the petitioner that he and the other members attended the meeting at the appointed hour on 18th January, 1968 and waited till 5 p.m. but the Tahsildar did not turn up. The petitioner sent a telegram to the Tahsildar and Collector intimating the fact of the Tahsildar's absence at the meeting. By their letter dated 29th January, 1968 the petitioner and the other members pointed out to the Tahsildar that they were hoping to hear from him regarding the fixation of a fresh date for the meeting. The Tahsildar replied by his letter dated 2nd February 1968 enclosing a copy of a letter dated, 19th January 1968 that the special meeting stood cancelled by reason of the orders of the Collector dated 10th January 1968. Then the petitioner and other members wrote to the Collector on 4th February 1968 asking to furnish them with a copy of the order dated 10th January 1968 and asking him for further particulars about his order dated 10th January 1968. It is alleged by the petitioner that the third respondent President, Panchayat Board, Kurinjipadi, is desperately trying, despite having lost the confidence of more than two -thirds of the Panchayat members, to prevent the subject of ' no -confidence ' in him from coming up for discussion by raising false and frivolous pleas. The petitioner also denied the suggestion that he and other members, who gave notice of the motion of ' no -confidence,' ever resigned their membership. On these facts the petitioner filed W.P. No. 624 of 1968 praying for the issue of a writ of mandamus directing the Tahsildar to hold a special meeting under Section 152(4) of the Act.

(3.) THE Collector in his order, dated 10th January, 1968 mentions that the President of the Kurinjipadi Panchayat represented to him that the members who had signed the supposed motion of' no -confidence ' against him, had resigned their membership already and that they had no right to move a motion of ' no -confidence ' and that he enquired into that representation. According to the Collector, 13 members of the Panchayat had sent the letter of resignation to the President and that their resignation was found to have been accepted on 30th November, 1967 by the President. The Collector then proceeds to state that the signature found in the letter of resignation were unequivocally those of the members and that there was no dispute about their signatures and in those circumstances he was of the view that those members cannot continue to be members of the Panchayat and therefore they had no locus standi to give a motion of' no -confidence ' against the President. Therefore, the Collector concluded that the holding of the meeting of the Panchayat on 18th January, 1968 as proposed by the Tahsildar of Cuddalore, was not desirable. Acting under the powers conferred by Section 147(1)(ii) of the Act, the Collector directed that the meeting of the Kurinjipadi Town Panchayat convened on 18th January, 1968 by the Tahsildar shall not be conducted and the notices issued for the said meeting will stand cancelled.