In exercise of the powers
conferred by Section 146 of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006 (Bihar Act 6,
2006) the Governer of Bihar makes the following Rules:- (i) These
Rules may be called the "Bihar Gram Kachahari Conduct Rules, 2007". (ii) These
Rules shall extend to the whole of Bihar, (iii) They
shall come into force with effect from the date of publication of Notification
in the Gazette. (a) "Act"
means Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006 (Bihar Act 6 of 2006); (b) "Bench"
means bench of the Gram Kachahari constituted for hearing of any suit or trial
of any case filed under Section 101 of the Act; (c) "Full
Bench" means full bench of the Gram Kachahari constituted for hearing any
appeal preferred under Section 112 of this Act for which seven Panch will form
the quorum; (d) "Criminal
Case" means criminal proceeding relating to any crime triable by the Bench
of the Gram Kachahari; (e) "Director,
Panchayat Raj" means an officer especially appointed for this purpose on
publishing notification in the Official Gazette by the State Government; (f) "Deputy
Director (Panchayat Raj)" means an officer especially appointed for the
State or the Commissionery of the State, as the case may be after publishing
notification in the Official Gazette by the State Government; (g) "District
Panchayat Raj Officer" means the District Panchayat Raj Officer of any
district appointed by the State Government which include such another officer
especially appointed under this Act by the State Government for discharging all
or any work of the District Panchayat Raj Officer; (h) "Gram
Panchayat Supervisor" means Block Level Panchayat Officer or Block
Panchayat Raj Officer especially appointed by the State Government with a view
to supervising and inspecting accounts, proceedings and records of Gram
Panchayats of the State and Gram Kachaharis or their benches; (i) "Form"
means a form the draft of which has been provided in the schedule of these
Rules; (j) "Section"
means Section of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006; (k) "Gram
Kachahari" means Gram Kachahari constituted under subsection (I) of
Section 90 of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006; (l) "Munsif
means such a Munsif who has local jurisdiction in the area where such a Gram
Kachahari has been constituted and which includes court of small causes; (m) "Sarpanch"
means Sarpanch of Gram Kachahari elected under subsection (a) of Section 90 of
the Act; (n) "Up-Sarpanch"
means Up-Sarpanch of Gram Kachahari elected under sub-section 3(1) of Section
93 of the Act; (o) "Panch"
means a Panch of Gram Kachahari elected under subsection 1 (b) of Section 90 of
the Act; (p) "Suit"
means a suit triable by the bench/full bench of the Gram Kachahari; (q) Words and
expressions used but not defined in these Rules shall have the same meaning as
has been assigned to them in the Act. Sarpanch will display the name of
persons elected as Panch for Gram Kachahari on the Notice Board of Gram
Kachahari immediately after the election of Sarpanch and Panch is concluded. Secretary of Gram Kachahari will
function as Peshkar of Gram Kachahari and fill up the forms prescribed in these
Rules and he will also be responsible for the safety of records of the Gram
Kachahari, collection of fees and amount of fine, proper maintenance and
preservation of accounts on their deposits. Records of each suit or
case to be filed in Gram Kachahari include order-sheet, evidence of witnesses
and final order given by the bench in form no. 1. These records will include
applications and documents filed by the parties, summons returned after being
served to the defendants and witnesses and implementation report of other
procedures. The whole procedure of a suit or case shall be a part of the record
after the appeal has been preferred. The Sarpanch will display a
notice on the notice board of the Gram Kachahari in consultation with the
Panches specifying the date and time of sittings to be held by the Bench. (a) Date of
application for filing suit or case and orders given thereon, (b) Date of
each hearing and proceeding; (c) Note on
each order given in the suit or case, (d) Whether
the Sarpanch or any Ranch is absent, (e) Signature
of members of the bench on each date, (f) Name of
such members of the Bench who are present but refused to sign the order-sheet, (g) Date for
which hearing of suit or case has been postponed and causes of postponement, (h) Name of
persons who have been examined or have turned up as witnesses; (i) Abstract
of applications and orders given on them; (j) Final
orders given on the suit or case; and (k) Other
matters which the Bench may deem necessary. (1) Order-sheet
in form-1 (2) Register
of civil suit in form-2 (3) Register
of criminal suit in form-3 (4) Counter foil
book of summons served to the defendant or accused in form-4 (5) Counter
foil book of summons served to witnesses in form-5 (6) Bailable
warrant to appear before Gram Kachahari in form-6 (7) Counter-foil
book of receipts in form-7 (8) Order to
realise fine in form-8 (9) Cash book
of Gram Kachahari in form-9 (10) Recognizance
bond to be signed by the witness to go on appearing in form-10 (11) List of
documents produced in form-11 (12) Register
of application forms to be given for copying in form-12 (1) Sarpanch
of Gram Kachahari will get the summons served on the defendant or accused by
the Secretary of Gram Kachahari in the manner stated hereinafter. (2) If the
summons is not returned after being served by the appointed date it will again
be served if need be. Each summons issued in duplicate
by Gram Kachahari in form 4 or 5, as the case may be, will be signed by the
Sarpanch or in his absence by Deputy Sarpanch and it will bear the seal of Gram
Kachahari. (1) If it is
practicable summons will be served on the person to be called by giving a copy
of it personally to him. (2) Each
person, on the summons has been served in this manner, will sign/put his thumb
impression on the back of the duplicate copy of the summons after receiving it. (3) If a
person on whom summons has been served refuses to acknowledge it, the officer
serving the summons will endorse the same on its duplicate copy and get it
authenticated at least by one witness and then that summons will be deemed to
have been duly served. (4) If the
person on whom summons has been served is found to be traceless after adequate
efforts, its copy shall be left with an adult male member of the family
residing jointly with him who will sign its duplicate copy. If he refuses to
sign the acknowledgement of summon the officer serving it will follow the
procedure laid down in sub-rule (3). (5) If the
summons is not served in the manner mentioned in this Rule despite adequate
efforts, the officer serving it will get a copy of the same pasted on a
conspicuous place of the house in which he lives, endorse the same on its back
and get the endorsement authenticated at least by one witness and then that
summons will be deemed to have been duly served. (6) Where the
summons issued by a Gram Kachahari is needed to be served outside the local
jurisdiction of that Gram Kachahari the Sarpanch will endorse two copies of the
summons and send them to the Sarpanch of that Gram Kachahari in whose local
jurisdiction the person summoned lives or is found. The Sarpanch to whom
summons is sent under Rule 12 will get it served in the manner in which he
would have served the summons issued by himself. Where the
bench of Gram Kachahari is unable to ensure the appearance of an accused it
will give report of his whereabouts and will forward bailable warrant in form-6
under Section 119(3) of the Act to Chief/Additioal/Sub-Judicial Magistrate to
apprehend such accused. Such Judicial Magistrate will countersign the warrant
and forward it to the officer-in-charge of the police station in whose
jurisdiction the accused is likely to be found. Such officer-in-charge will
execute the warrant and take necessary steps to ensure the appearance of the
accused before the bench at the time of his trial. Each suit or case will generally
be disposed of within six weeks from the date of its filing. With a
view to finding out the facts of a suit or proceeding the Sarpanch or the bench
can enter the land or house related to the suit or proceeding from sunrise to
sunset by giving prior information and showing cause to its owner. If that land
or house is in possession of ladies who live in Purdah as per customs of the
place will be duly intimated to shift from there. In such a case there must be
a lady among the Sarpanch or member of the Bench. (1) The Gram
Kachahari shall have its own seal bearing the words "Gram Kachahari ...
Gram Panchayat" in Hindi language. (2) The seal
will be in possession of Sarpanch which will be used for all summons, orders
and certified copies issued by him and all documents filed in Gram Kachahari. A person who
has been exempted from appearing in person in Civil Court under sub-section (1)
of Section 133 Code of Civil Procedure shall not be compelled to appear before
the bench in any suit. (1) Two
Panches out of the Panches of Gram Kachahari to be nominated by the parties
concerned and two other Panches elected by Sarpanch shall constitute the bench
of Gram Kachahari. There must be at least one lady member in the bench. (2) Where
there is more than one plaintiff/defendant/accused they shall nominate the Panch
together: Provided that the same set of
Panches shall not be elected again unless all the Panches included in the list
are provided opportunity to join the Bench of Gram Kachahari. (1) If both
the parties appear before the Sarpanch or Up-Sarpanch, as the case may be, at
the time of filing the suit or case they will nominate Panches out of the list
of Panches at that very time. (2) If a
co-plaintiff or co-defendant of a suit or an accused or co-accused of a case
does not agree to a common name out of the list of the Panches within twenty
four hours of his appearing before the Sarpanch or in his absence Up-Sarpanch,
the Sarpanch or Up-Sarpanch will nominate one Panch out of the list of Panches
to represent co-plaintiff, co-defendant or co-accused in the bench. (3) Party to
a suit shall:- (i) Nominate
a Panch on behalf of the defendant accused the next succeeding day from the day
on which he is summoned to appear and if he fails to do so the Sarpanch or in
his absence Up-Sarpanch shall nominate a Panch out of the Panches of Gram
Kachahari on behalf of the party to the suit. (ii) The
plaintiff of a case shall nominate a Panch on the day of filing the case
itself. (4) Notwithstanding
the trial of a suit or case being in progress, service of a Panch is not
available at any time for a period of seven days and if a Panch is prevented
from taking part in the proceedings, another Panch will be nominated next day
by the party concerned or will be elected by the Sarpanch or Up-Sarpanch, as
the case may be: Provided that if a party fails to
nominate the Panch within the period stipulated in the rule the Sarpanch or
Up-Panch, as the case may be, shall nominate a Panch out of the Panches of Gram
Kachahari on behalf of the party as per procedure mentioned. The Sarpanch shall admit the
Civil Suit under the provisions of Section 110 of the Act if the proceeding of
suit is initiated wholly or partially within the local jurisdiction of Gram
Kachahari or if the defendant ordinarily lives or carries on his business
within that jurisdiction. (1) All suits
shall be filed by giving application in writing under the Panchayat Act. The
application shall contain name of parties concerned amount of claim, short
statement of main points on which the parties concerned depend and the relief
claimed. (2) Before admitting
the application under this Rule the Secretary of Gram Kachahari shall realise
fees of Rs. 10/- in cash as per value of the suit or at the rate of Rs. 1/- for
a part thereof. As soon as a suit is filed to the
Sarpanch he will take a decision whether it is triable by the bench mentioned
in this Act. If the Sarpanch is satisfied that the trial of the suit is beyond
the jurisdiction of the bench of Gram Kachahari he will return the said
application to the plaintiff and tell him which of the court is of suitable
jurisdiction and will mention the matter to this effect in that application: Provided that before giving
orders to return the application the applicant will be provided reasonable
opportunity of being heard. Under Rule 31 the plaintiff will
submit his application with such number of copies as there are defendants in
the suit. If the Sarpanch does not return
the application as per Rule 22 and the defendant do not turn up before him,
summons will be issued to them all with copies of application keeping in view
their number and they will be asked to turn up and show cause why the claim of
plaintiff should not be entertained. Date and time for their appearance should
also be mentioned in the summons. If the defendant does not turn up
in person or through the person authorised by him under Section 117 of the Act
in compliance with the summons issued under Rule 24, the hearing of the suit
may be done ex parte by the bench. If any document is produced
before the bench the person producing it may take that back by giving a copy of
it provided the Sarpanch is satisfied that it is the true copy. (1) If the
bench of Gram Kachahari gives judgment in the suit to give decree wholly or
partially it will contain the following details:- (a) name of
parties, their father's name and address related with the suit; (b) claim and
details of claim; (c) grounds
of judgment; (d) the
amount of decree with cost given in the suit or any other relief provided and
amount of interest sanctioned. (2) (i) If
the bench gives order to pay some money or grant any moveable property, it will
fix a date in its order when the said amount or moveable property is paid or
granted to the party in its presence who is entitled to get it as per order and
the bench will mention such payment or grant in its order-sheet and the person
getting payment or property will give receipt thereof which will be attached to
the record. (ii) ???If such payment or grant is to be made in
instalments, the date of every instalment shall be fixed in the order. (iii)? ?In the
case of claim for amount interest may be realised at the rate of 6% per annum
according to the judgment of the bench of Gram Kachahari and such interest will
be realised from the judgment debtor from the date on which the claim has been
made for the said amount till the date of realisation of amount of decree. If it is proved to the
satisfaction of the bench that a suit has been settled wholly or partially by
any legal agreement or compromise or if the defendant has paid the amount
related with suit to the plaintiff wholly or partially, the bench will record
such agreement, compromise or payment in writing and so far as the suit is
concerned it will pass decree as per agreement etc. mentioned above. (1) If the
amount of decree is not paid or the property is not delivered on the date
decided as per sub-rule (2) of Rule 27, the decree holder shall give an
application to the Sarpanch requesting him to execute his decree. (2) The
amount for execution of decree will be Rs. 10/- which the decree holder will
pay in cash at the time of giving application to get the decree executed passed
by the bench of Gram Kachahari. If the bench of Gram Kachahari is
unable to execute its decree it will refer such decree to the Munsif for
execution, who will execute it as if it were passed by the Munsif himself. Whenever a defendant is to pay
the fine the Sarpanch will take action to realise it. In case the bench of Gram
Kachahari is unable to realise the fine imposed by it in a case for some
reasons, it will refer the order imposing such fine to
Chief/Additional/Sub-Judicial Magistrate for execution in Form-8, who will
realise the fine from the person against whom such order has been passed in the
disputed matter as if it were passed by the same Magistrate. Any complaint case to be filed
under Section 106 of the Act may be filed to the Sarpanch in writing and where
the services of Sarpanch are not available it may be filed to the Up-Sarpanch. A person desirous of filing
complaint case under Rule 32 will deposit a sum of Rs. 100/- only in cash as
fee to the Secretary of Gram Kachahari. If the complaint petition
has been filed in writing the Sarpanch or Up-Sarpanch, as the case may be,
shall administer Oath to the petitioner and verify the petition without delay
and the summary of statement made by the petitioner solemnly on taking oath
shall be entered on the back of the petition which may be opened for such case: Provided that whatever statement
the petitioner has made either solemnly or on oath will be read out and
explained to him and he will put his signature or thumb impression under the
said statement. (a) that from
the said statement the crime is not made out or if at all it made out, it is
beyond the jurisdiction of the bench of Gram Kachahari, he will dismiss such
petition forthwith and will intimate the petitioner of his order without any
delay. (b) if by the
said statement such crime comes to light which is cognizable by the bench of
Gram Kachahari, he will take cognizance of it and issue summons to the
defendant stating the crime he has been accused of and the date on which he has
to appear before the bench of Gram Kachahari. If the summons is not served by
the fixed date it will be served again. The bench of Gram Kachahari will
ensure the appearance of an accused in all cases triable by it in the same
manner as has been laid down in When the accused appears or is
brought before the bench of Gram Kachahari, he will give statement of his own
accord relating to the allegations made against him. If the bench of the Gram
Kachahari fails to effect a compromise cordially between the two parties as
required by Section 102 and if the defendant has given statement it will be
recorded in writing. If the accused confesses the allegations made against him
and if the crime on his confession is cognizable by the bench, it will record
its judgment according to the nature of that crime and the judgment of majority
of members will be effective in case there is no consensus among the members of
the bench. (1) If the
bench doesn't punish the accused as per foregoing Rule, as the accused didn't
confess his crime, it will initiate hearing of the complainant and take in its
possession the evidence relating to the case produced by him. Thereafter the
bench will initiate hearing of the accused and take in possession the evidence
produced by him in his defence. (2) If the
bench thinks it proper it will issue summons to a witness on an application by
the complainant or defendant to appear in person or produce any document or
materials on the date mentioned in it. (3) The bench
will require the complainant or defendant to submit process fee @ Rs. 2/- per
summon before issuing summons to the witness on such application. (1) If on
taking evidence as per Rule 39 and obtaining such evidences as it desires and
examining the defendant, the bench comes to the conclusion that the defendant
is not guilty, it will record its judgment in the manner as laid down in
Section 103. (2) If the
bench finds the defendant guilty it will declare his conviction and give him
legitimate punishment under Section 107 of the Act. But any bench of Gram
Kachahari cann't pass sentence of simple or rigorous imprisonment. It may
punish the guilty with such fine which will not exceed Rs. 1,000/-. Any appeal to be filed against
any order or judgment of the bench of Gram Kachahari under Section 112 of the
Act may be filed before the full bench of Gram Kachahari within thirty (30)
days from the date of such order or judgment for which seven (7) Ranches will
form the quorum. If an appeal is filed against the
judgment of the bench in a civil or criminal case, such case shall not be
admitted unless a fee in-cash is deposited to the Secretary of Gram Kachahari @
Rs. 10/- according to the value of the suit or at the rate of Rs. 1/- for any
portion of it or a fee of Rs. 10/- in-cash is deposited to the bench
respectively: Provided that in criminal cases
the Sarpanch may exempt the appellant from paying off such fee by mentioning
the ground of poverty or other reasons in order-sheet. On filing the memorandum of
appeal and paying off required fee for it by a party, the Sarpanch will give
notice to respondent and all the Panches of Gram Kachahari to appear at the
meeting of the full bench at the time and place and date mentioned in it. The
date of such meeting will generally be fixed before the expiry of 15 days from
the date of filing the appeal. (1) The full
bench will examine the records of suit, make hearing of the parties and do
whatever it deems necessary for justice on the date fixed for hearing and there
upon it will either confirm the order given by the bench of Gram Kachahari or
make alteration in it or cancel it or give such order which may be just and
convenient keeping the nature of suit in view. (2) The
judgment of the full bench will be based on majority of the votes of the
panches taking part in the meeting. (3) A panch
who doesn't agree to the opinion of other panches will give his minute of
dissent. (4) Such
panches of the full bench who agree to its judgment will put their signature on
it and where they disagree to the judgment of majority the bench will take
their minute of dissent and get it signed by them. Till the disposal of an appeal
the Sarpanch will give order by mentioning the reasons that the decree or the
punishment or the order against which appeal has been filed must not be
executed. (1) The
appeal will generally be disposed-within one month from the date of its filing. (2) If the
appeal is not disposed-within the period specified in sub-rule (1) the Sarpanch
will mention the reasons of delay in the final order given in the disposal of
the appeal. (1) Whenever
the Sarpanch has reasons to believe that there is a possibility of breach or
disturbance of public-peace and prompt action is needed to prevent it, he will
give order in writing to the person involved by mentioning the main points of
the matter concerned to keep himself away from certain activity or will give
direction to a person to abstain from a particular act or to take action with
regard to the property under his management or possession. (2) The
Sarpanch will give his order in two copies and send them under his hand and
seal of Gram Kachahari to the persons concerned to be served in the manner
stated from Rules 10 to 12 as far as possible. To ensure the appearance of
the witness before the Sarpanch or bench on the date fixed for the hearing of
the case or suit, he will be required to give a personal bond not exceeding Rs.
100/- in Form No. 10. (1) Any
record of Gram Kachahari will not be carried away from it's office to other
places. The District Judge or any judicial officer especially authorised by
him, within whose local jurisdiction Gram Panchayat comes shall have power to
visit the office of Gram Kachahari and make inspection of it's proceedings and
records. (2) Director
and Dy. Director of Panchayat Raj, District Panchayat Raj Officer, Block
Development Officer/Circle Officer, Block Development Supervisor or Block
Panchayat Raj Officer shall make a regular supervision and inspection of
books-of-account of Gram Kachahari or its benches (including full bench)
located within their respective jurisdiction at least four times in a year and
the two officers mentioned latter shall give report to the District Panchayat
Raj Officer. The District Panchayat Raj Officer shall give reasonable
suggestion/instruction to the Gram Kachahari or its bench/full bench as the
case may be. (1) The bond
which has been signed in persuance of the foregoing rules at the instance of
Sarpanch or the bench and it is proved to his/its satisfaction that the amount
of the bond has been confiscated in favour of Gram Kachahari on account of the
witness of the accused not being present before the Sarpanch or the bench, the
Sarpanch or the bench shall ask the accused or the witness to show cause why
the amount of the bond shouldn't be recovered from him. (2) In case
sufficient cause is not shown the Sarpanch or bench shall give order to the
accused or the bailor or the witness, as the case may be, to pay off the said
amount on the date mentioned in the order and if the amount is not paid on the
said date the Sarpanch shall realise it from the date, which has been
prescribed in the rules made for the realisation of fine imposed by the bench. Court
language of the bench of a Gram Kachahari shall be Hindi in Devnagri script. (1) Any
person who wants the copy of the proceeding record of the bench or a part
thereof, will apply to the Sarpanch in writing, giving details of record the
copy of which he wants. The applicant will be informed how much he has to pay
as fee on the date on which he applies for copy, and on paying the fee the
Sarpanch will get the copy of record prepared and make it available to the
applicant with in three (3) days from the date of paying the fee. For every 100
words or a part thereof, fee will be calculated @ Rs. 2/-. (2) The
applicant will be provided certified copy of a party of the proceeding record
of the bench after comparing it with the original one. Fee will be charged from
him @ Rs. 1/- for every 100 words or a part thereof. (3) A person
who has been entrusted responsibility to make a copy of the proceeding record
will be given remuneration @ 0.50 paisa for every 100 words or a part thereof
and the remaining amount will be deposited to the fund of Gram Kachahari. (4) The
Secretary of Gram Kachahari or in his absence a person authorised by Sarpanch
wilt act as copy writer who will be entitled to get remuneration prescribed in
sub-rule (3). (5) (i) As
per this Rule the copy provided to the person will include the dates on which
application was submitted, copy was prepared and handed over to the applicant
and how much lee was paid for it. The copy will bear the signature of copy
writer and Sarpanch and seal of Gram Kachahari. (ii) ??As per sub-rule (2) the certified copy issued
will bear the signature of Sarpanch and the words "True-copy" will be
written on top. Notwithstanding any provision
otherwise transgressed in these Rules, the Nayayamitra especially appointed under
sub-section (2) of Section 94 of the Act will assist the Gram Kachahari or its
bench in discharge of its duty. The Gram
Kachahari will have a seperate fund of its own. The fee-fine etc. deposited to
Gram Kachahari will be maintained by the Secretary of the Gram Kachahari in
Form-9 of its cash-book. The account of Gram Kachahari will be operated by the
joint signature of the Sarpanch and Up-Sarpanch and it will be operated,
maintained and managed under the directions issued by the Government from time
to time: Provided
that in the event of either the post of Sarpanch or Up-Sarpanch being vacant
the account of Gram Kachahari will be operated with the joint signature of a
panch selected from among the panches by the majority of votes and either
Sarpanch or Up-Sarpanch, as the case may be. The Bihar
Gram Kachahari Rules, 1962 are hereby repealed. (i) Notwithstanding
this repeal any work done or any action taken in exercise of the powers
conferred by or under the said Rules, as far as may be shall be deemed to be a
work done or an action taken in exercise of the powers conferred by or under
the said Rules as if they were in force on the day on which the work was done
or action taken.BIHAR GRAM KACHAHARI CONDUCT RULES, 2007
PREAMBLE
The Gram Kachahari will hold its meetings at
the place where its office is located.