IMPORTANT POINT
Delaying tactic adopted by a person cannot enure to his benefit.
When no confidence motion is carried by majority vote, no further enquiry into validity of signature of members signing no confidence motion is warranted.

fJUDGMENT :

A.M. Khanwilkar, J.

1. This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 3rd August, 2017, passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Writ-C No.27912 of 2017, whereby the Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by the appellant for challenging the no confidence motion notice issued under Section 15 of The U.P. Kshettra Panchayats and Zila Panchayats Adhiniyam, 1961 (for short, “the Act”).

2. A Notice was issued by the Collector/District Magistrate, Bulandshahar, U.P., dated 15th June, 2017 on the basis of requisition given by 32 members out of 59 members of the Kshettra Panchayat, expressing no confidence against the appellant who was the Block Pramukh of Kshettra Panchayat, Lakhawati at the relevant time. The notice had fixed the meeting date as 1st July, 2017 i.e. on the 17th day from the date of notice. The appellant challenged the said notice by way of a writ petition before the High Court of Allahabad on two counts. First, that the Collector had failed to hold an enquiry into the validity of signatures of 10 members, who subsequently filed affidavits stating that their signatures were obtained by fraud. Second, that there was no clear 15 days’ notice as contemplated under sub-section (3) of Section 15 of the Act. The Division Bench, after considering the factual position emanating from the record before it, negatived both the contentions and eventually dismissed the writ petition filed by the appellant vide the impugned judgment.

3. Feeling aggrieved, the appellant has approached this Court raising the self-same two grounds urged before the High Court, for challenging the validity of the no confidence motion notice dated 15th June, 2017. The respondents have supported the reasons recorded by the High Court and would contend that both the grounds urged by the appellant are devoid of any merit.

4. We have heard Mr. Aditya Ranjan, learned counsel for the appellant.

5. Reverting to the second contention that there was no clear 15 days’ notice, this aspect has been considered by the High Court on the basis of record before it, revealing that the appellant had refused/avoided to receive the notice personally and hence it was sent by post. The High Court also found that the appellant had failed to produce any material on record to show that the notice was dispatched after the 17th day and that on the appellant’s own admission in the writ petition, it was evident that the objection to the said notice was taken on the 16th day itself relating to signatures of few members who had signed the notice. This was a strong circumstance to belie the tall claim of the appellant. Taking an overall view of the matter, the High Court noted that the issue involved a disputed question of fact and could not be decided in writ jurisdiction. At the same time, the High Court took note of the fact that the meeting was duly conducted as scheduled in terms of the stated notice and the no confidence motion was passed by a majority, against the appellant. We, therefore, find no reason to depart from the conclusion recorded by the High Court for rejecting the challenge that no clear 15 days’ notice was given as claimed by the appellant. Accordingly, this contention must fail and is rejected.

6. As aforesaid, since the stated notice has already been acted upon and the no confidence motion has been passed against the appellant by majority, no further enquiry into the grounds urged by the appellant is warranted. Be that as it may, even the first ground urged by the appellant has been justly negatived by the High Court following the exposition of the Full Bench of the same High Court in Smt. Sheela Devi Vs. State of U.P. and Ors., AIR 2015 All. 65 which decision adverts to the dictum of another Full Bench decision of the same High Court in Mathura Prasad Tewari Vs. Assistant District Panchayat Officer, Faizabad, 1966 ALJ 612. In the impugned judgment, the Division Bench has reproduced paragraph 23 of the