SAVLO RAMA PORABE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE legality of the Notification No. 1/15 (19)/85-F and A, whereby inter alia, the area of Varkhand-Nagzar Village panchayat was modified, is the subject of the challenge in these two writ petitions filed, one by a Panch of the said Panchayat and the other by a village and member of the Gram Sabha of the same Village Panchayat.

(2.) THE Village Panchayat of Varconda-Nagzar had been constituted and by a Notification dated 4th August, 1977, published on the same day, in the Official Gazette, was said to comprise the areas of 1. Kadsarem (Houses Nos. 44 to 67) ; 2. Varconda ; 3. Nagzar ; 4. Shemechi Adivan ; 5. Nanachapani ; 6. Tulaskarwadi; 7. Purvawadi and 8. Bhemalem. On 2nd August, 1986, a meeting was held in the chamber of the Minister for labour and Employment and Panchayats to discuss the problems of some villages affected in the re-organisation of some Panchayats of Taluka of pernem and the proposed Municipality of Pernem. The concerned sarpanchas had attended the said meeting and considering the demands of of the public and the proposal for setting up a Municipality for town and pernem, ultimately, tentatively suggested that the Varkhand-Nagzor village Panchayat would comprise the areas of Kadsarem (House Nos. 50 to 62), Varconda Nagzar, Shemechi Adivani, Nanachapani, part of the revenue village Cansarvarnem comprising the area of Tulaskarvadi and part of the revenue village Cansarvarnem comprising the area of Purvawadi. An extraordinary meeting was therefore held on 11th September, 1986, by the Gram Panchayat of Varkhand-Nagzor to decide the issue of the division of the said Gram Panchayat. A resolution was passed, according to which, the division of the Gram Panchayat of Varkhand Nagzor was decided to be affected in accordance with the minutes of the meeting convened by the Minister for Panchayats on 2nd August, 1986, that is to say that, with the exclusion of Bhendalem - part of the Ozrim village, the remaining part of Tulaskarwadi and Purvawadi which were parts of cansarvarnem village be joined to Varkhond-Nagzor Panchayat only. Thereafter, the Secretary to the Government of Goa, Daman and Diu, in chatge of the Panchayats, by the impugned Notification dated 22nd september, 1986, published in the Official Gazette dated 23rd September, 1986, notified the alteations made in several Panchayats and, inter alia, in the Panchayat of Varkhand-Nagzor. As per the said Notification, the areas comprising in the said Panchayat were stated to be 1) Kadsarem, 2) Vardonda, 3) Nagzar, 4) Shemechi Adi an, 5) Nanchapani and 6)part of the revenue village Cansarvarnem comprising the area of tulskarwadi and excluding Purvawadi. The said area of Purvawadi was included in the Village Panchayat Cansarvornem-Chandel.

(3.) PETITIONERS in both the petitions challenge the aforesaid Notification on the same grounds and, therefore, the common judgment. It is indeed their case that the aforesaid Notification is vitiated inasmuch as there was no proper consultation of the Village Panchayat as required by Section 9 of the Goa, Daman and Diu Village Panchayats Regulation, 1962, hereinafter referred to as "the Regulation". Secondly, no proposal for the modification or alteration of the area of the said Panchayat had been made by the Lt. Governor although under the said Section 9 alterations of the area of a Village Panchayat can be done by the Lt. Governor only after consultation with the Panchayat or Panchayats concerned. Finally, the decision to modify the areas of the Panchayat concerned was actually taken in the meeting held by the Minister for Panchayats on 2nd August, 1986, and, therefore, the Resolution passed by the Panchayat does not constitute a proper consultation and expression of its views.