D. Subba Rao
v.
State Of Andhra Pradesh & Others
(Supreme Court Of India)
Special Leave to Petition (Civil) No. 3144 Of 1973 | 17-01-1974
Krishna Iyer, J.
1. The appellant was elected as the President of the Panchayat Samiti of Bapatla on July 18, 1970. The government for reasons set out in its communication, issued a show-cause notice dated September 26, 1972, asking the President to submit an explanation within 21 days of the receipt of that notice why he should not be removed. Thereafter, various communications and other proceedings took place with which we are not concerned in the light of the final order that we are passing. We have suggested a course to the parties, which fairly agreed was reasonable in the circumstances of the case.
2. The appellant has contended that the order removing him from his office as the President was passed without hearing him and the respondent State has contested his ground taking up the stand that an opportunity has been afforded but has not been taken advantage of. We are not going into the merits of the matter, because we feel that the ends of justice would be served by the following direction :
3. The order impugned will be provisionally maintained, but the appellant will be given an opportunity by the State Government to make his representation against the charges set out in the notice dated September 26, 1972, within six weeks from today. The appellant will be given an opportunity to peruse the relevant records within three weeks from today. The representation made by the appellant will be considered afresh by the State Government and on such a consideration, it will pass an order affirming, modifying or cancelling the order dated January 6, 1973.
4. Till the second order is passed, status quo will continue in the sense that the Vice-President, who is now discharging the functions of the President will continue to do so and no fresh by-election will be held. The second order that the State Government passes will not preclude the seeking of remedies under the law, if any.
5. The appeal is disposed of as above. The parties will bear their own costs in this Court.
6. Order accordingly.
1. The appellant was elected as the President of the Panchayat Samiti of Bapatla on July 18, 1970. The government for reasons set out in its communication, issued a show-cause notice dated September 26, 1972, asking the President to submit an explanation within 21 days of the receipt of that notice why he should not be removed. Thereafter, various communications and other proceedings took place with which we are not concerned in the light of the final order that we are passing. We have suggested a course to the parties, which fairly agreed was reasonable in the circumstances of the case.
2. The appellant has contended that the order removing him from his office as the President was passed without hearing him and the respondent State has contested his ground taking up the stand that an opportunity has been afforded but has not been taken advantage of. We are not going into the merits of the matter, because we feel that the ends of justice would be served by the following direction :
3. The order impugned will be provisionally maintained, but the appellant will be given an opportunity by the State Government to make his representation against the charges set out in the notice dated September 26, 1972, within six weeks from today. The appellant will be given an opportunity to peruse the relevant records within three weeks from today. The representation made by the appellant will be considered afresh by the State Government and on such a consideration, it will pass an order affirming, modifying or cancelling the order dated January 6, 1973.
4. Till the second order is passed, status quo will continue in the sense that the Vice-President, who is now discharging the functions of the President will continue to do so and no fresh by-election will be held. The second order that the State Government passes will not preclude the seeking of remedies under the law, if any.
5. The appeal is disposed of as above. The parties will bear their own costs in this Court.
6. Order accordingly.
Advocates List
For the Appearing Parties ------------
For Petitioner
- Shekhar Naphade
- Mahesh Agrawal
- Tarun Dua
For Respondent
- S. Vani
- B. Sunita Rao
- Sushil Kumar Pathak
Bench List
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE V.R. KRISHNA IYER
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE R.S. SARKARIA
Eq Citation
AIR 1975 SC 94
(1975) 4 SCC 808
1974 (6) UJ 143
LQ/SC/1974/12
HeadNote
A. Panchayats — Panchayat Samiti — President — Removal of — Show-cause notice — Hearing — Held, order removing appellant from his office as President was passed without hearing him and an opportunity was not afforded — State Government directed to afford an opportunity to make his representation against charges set out in notice — Local Government — Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Samiti Act, 1959 — S. 10-A(1) — Constitution of India, Art. 243(d) B. Evidence Act, 1973 — S. 9 — Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — S. 311 — Panchayats — Panchayat Samiti — President — Removal of — Hearing — Evidence Act, 1973, S. 9 and Cr. P.C., 1973, S. 311
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