SUNKA RAM Vs. GRAM PANCHAYAT PATTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ORDER:- The third respondent appears to have lodged a complaint before the first respondent-Panchayat alleging that the petitioner and another person (hereinafter to be compendiously referred as"the petitioner") had encroached upon and were causing obstruction in the use of a public street/path. Upon receipt of the complaint, the petitioner appears to have been summoned before the Panchayat. Besides, the Panchayat appears to have visited the spot and recorded statements of two witnesses. Having been satisfied about the existence of the encroachment/obstruction, the Panchayat made a conditional order on April 21, 1983, under S.19(1)(a) of the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1968 (hereinafter to be referred to as"the Act") requiring the petitioner to clear the encroachment within a period of 15 days and if the petitioner had any objection so to do, to appear before it on May 7, 1983 and to move to have the order set aside or duly modified. According to the first respondent Panchayat, the petitioner failed to produce any evidence or to clarify the position as required. Under the circumstances, in purported exercise of the powers conferred by S.19(1) read with S.22 of the Act, the conditional order made on April 21, 1983 was made absolute on May 7, 1983. The first respondent-Panchayat also proceeded to give the following further directions in the course of the same order :-

(2.) S.19 of the Act reads as under :-

(3.) On a careful analysis of the provisions of Ss.19 and 22 of the Act, a Gram Panchayat is required to take the following steps (other than step No.4) in a chronological order to require the removal of encroachments and nuisance and to ensure compliance with its orders in that behalf as well as to impose penalty for its disobedience: