HARIHAR SWAIN Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners are inhabitants of Nimani Grama Panchayat and have filed this writ petition challenging the notification dated 28.5.2003 by which the headquarters of the Nimani Grama Panchayat has been located at Kalika Prasad.

(2.) MR . Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that under Sub -section (3) of Section 4 of the Orissa Grama Panchayats Act, 1964 (for short, the 'Act') the office and headquarters of the Grama Sasan shall be situated within the limits of the Grama and unless otherwise ordered by the State Government in the village bearing the name of the Grama. Mr. Mishra argued that since the name of the Grama is Nimani, the office and headquarters of the Grama Sasan of Grama Nimani should have been situated in village Nimani and not in Kalika Prasad.

(3.) MR . Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioner, however, submitted that pursuant to the directions of this Court in a writ petition O.J.C. No. 14774 of 2001 for consideration of representation for fixing the headquarters of the Grama Panchayat at Kalika Prasad instead of Nimani, the Commissioner -cum -Secretary to the Government in Panchayati Raj Department by his order dated 5.1.2002 had rejected the said representation after having observed that Nimani has the highest population and there are infrastructure at Nimani and there was no strong reason to change the headquarters from Nimani to Kalika Prasad and at a later stage, the Government cannot possibly take a different view and fix the headquarters at Kalika Prasad instead of Nimani.