RAVINDRA BHASKAR LUMPATAKI Vs. CHAIRMAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith and heard finally by consent of the parties.

(2.) The petitioner was Sarpanch of Puntamba-Rastapur Group Gram Panchayat. A meeting was summoned on 28-9-2005 in order to discuss various subjects including subject pertaining to verification of a purported resignation tendered by the petitioner. The subject was discussed and by majority it was resolved that the resignation was tendered, in fact, by the petitioner. The Resolution No. 7 passed in the said meeting was disputed by the petitioner. According to him, the resignation letter in question was not tendered by him, it was not in his hand and it was not voluntarily given by him. He further alleged that his signature was taken on such resignation letter when he was inducted in office as a Sarpanch by members of his group which was the then prevailing practice. He alleged that a fraud was played on him and that the signed resignation letter was misused while he was absent from the village and had gone to Pune for his personal work.

(3.) The Collector, Ahmednagar enquired into the dispute raised by the petitioner under sec. 34(3) of the Bombay Village Panchayat Act, 1958 ("the said Act" for short). The Collector rejected the application of the petitioner whereby he had raised the dispute regarding validity, authorship and correctness of the resignation letter. The petitioner preferred an appeal against such finding of the learned Collector. The appeal came to be dismissed. Feeling aggrieved, he has filed the instant writ petition.