Disqualification of a panchayat member requires strict adherence to procedural fairness and proper authority; collective actions taken during crises are not grounds for disqualification under statutory provisions.

ORDER :

1. The petitioner has sought for a writ in the nature of certiorari to quash the enquiry report dated 28.02.2025 submitted by respondent No.3 in Case No. RCM-ELN1/47/2024

which the petitioner was disqualified under Section 43-A(v) of the KARNATAKA GRAM SWARAJ AND PANCHAYAT RAJ ACT , 1993 (henceforth referred to as 'Act, 1993').

2. (i) The petitioner was elected as a member of the respondent No.6 - Panchayat on 30.12.2020. The petitioner claims that during the financial year 2022-23, a sum of Rs.55,45,338/- was collected by the panchayat as tax but only a sum of Rs.43,90,688/- was deposited into the account of the panchayat as on 31.03.2023. The petitioner therefore alleged that a sum of Rs.11,54,650/- was misappropriated. He also alleged that some materials were procured by the panchayat in violation of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 1999 and payments were made to certain individuals in an illegal manner. He therefore, lodged a complaint on 06.04.2023 with the respondent No.4 requesting him to initiate suitable action. The respondent No.4 constituted a Special Investigation Team to enquire into the allegations and the Special Investigation Team, after investigation, was of the opinion that there was misappropriation of the funds in the panchayat.

(ii) The petitioner further claims that certain individuals had fabricated and forged revenue documents concerning 5 guntas of Rajakaluve running in Sy.No.63 of Halaguru Village and got their names entered in the revenue records. In that regard, the petitioner had submitted a complaint to the Deputy Commissioner, Mandya, requesting him to initiate suitable action against the individuals. Following the complaint, the respondent No.5 conducted an enquiry and submitted a report to the respondent No.4 confirming that the khata of 5 guntas of Rajakaluve in Sy.No.63 was illegally transferred to private individuals and that revenue records were fabricated.

(iii) The petitioner claims that the Auditor of the Mandya Circle submitted a report dated 19.10.2023 confirming that there were financial irregularities and misappropriation of funds by some officials of the panchayat. The petitioner who was aware of similar such illegal and unlawful activities approached this Court in W.P.No.22638/2024 seeking appropriate directions against the then Panchayat Development Officer. The petitioner contends that in view of these many issues, the then Panchayat Development Officer was harboring ill-will against him. A complaint against petitioner was lodged by Mr. Lokesh at the instance of the then Panchayat Development Officer on 19.08.2023, alleging that the wife of the petitioner had supplied electrical items to the panchayat through a business entity named "Shree Sachin Electronics". It was also alleged that the panchayat had issued two cheques in favour of Shree Sachin Electronics, one for Rs.61,600/- and another for Rs.66,400/-. On this basis, it was alleged that the petitioner was directly interested in the transaction of the panchayath and thereby had violated Section 43-A of the Act, 1993. Therefore, the respondent No.4 was requested to initiate appropriate proceedings for disqualification of the petitioner. On receipt of the complaint, respondent No.4 forwarded the same to respondent No.5 to conduct an enquiry and submit a report. The respondent No.5 however, instead of conducting an enquiry, inspected the documents maintained by the panchayat and submitted a report on 20.09.2024.

(iv) The petitioner contends that the respondent No.5 did not hear him and the report submitted to the respondent No.4 was one sided. The respondent No.4 then directed the respondent No.5 to seek an explanation fr