The central legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation and application of Section 14(1)(j-3) of the Maharashtra Village Panchayat Act, 1959, in the context of ownership and occupancy rights over government land.

JUDGMENT :

The petitioner who was elected as Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat Gawandgaon, has filed this writ petition challenging her disqualification from the said elected position of Sarpanch under Section 14(1)(j-3) of the Maharashtra Village Panchayat Act, 1959. It is the contention of the petitioner that the order passed by the respondent No.2 Collector, Akola, holding that she stood disqualified under the said provision is not in consonance with law and that the respondent No.1 Divisional Commissioner Amravati also erred in dismissing her appeal filed under Section 16(2) of the aforesaid Act. While issuing notice in this writ petition on 03/05/3029, this Court recorded the contention raised on behalf of the petitioner that her case was covered by judgment of this Court in the case of Shantaram Narayan Raut vs. Additional Commissioner, 2012 Mh.L.J. 790 and on that basis adinterim relief was granted in her favour, as a consequence of which she has continued in the said position of Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat.

2. In October 2017, the petitioner was directly elected as Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat under the provisions of the said Act. The respondent No.4 filed an application on 07/12/2017 before the respondent No.2 Collector, claiming that the petitioner had incurred disqualification under Section 14(1) (j-3) of the aforesaid Act, as she and her husband had encroached upon Government land. It was claimed that the petitioner and her husband had constructed house on open land in layout of Pandit Nehru Backward Class Housing Society by encroaching upon open land and that therefore, the petitioner deserved to be disqualified under the said provision. It was claimed that the land had been given for occupation to the aforesaid Society to facilitate construction of houses for members of the Society belonging to backward classes. The portion of the open land on which the petitioner and her husband had committed encroachment was under the ownership of the Government and that therefore, the disqualification was clearly made out. This was opposed by the petitioner by claiming that the land had been made over to the aforesaid society in accordance with law and that the record of the Gram Panchayat demonstrated that the name of the petitioner and her husband was recorded in respect of the land on which the construction had been made. On this basis it was submitted that the application filed by respondent No.4 deserved to be rejected.

3. Upon receipt of the said application of respondent No.4, the respondent No.2 Collector instituted the proceeding as per Section 16 of the said Act. A report was called from the Talathi of Gawandgaon and in the said report the Talathi submitted before the Collector that the petitioner and her husband had indeed constructed house in open land in the aforesaid layout of the Society. On the basis of the material on record and the contentions raised by the rival parties, the respondent No.2 Collector by order dated 07/12/2018, held that the land in question was F-Class land belonging to the Government and it had been transferred from the Gram Panchayat to the aforesaid Society for construction of houses for its members. The respondent No.2 Collector came to the conclusion that the land in question could not be said to be private land and the material on record sufficiently indicated that the petitioner had incurred disqualification under Section 14(1)(j-3) of the aforesaid Act. Accordingly, the application of the respondent No.4 was allowed. This had the consequence of removal of the petitioner from the position of Sarpanch.

4. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner filed appeal under Section 16(2) of the said Act before the respondent No.1 Divisional Commissioner. By order dated 22/04/2019, the respondent No.1 dismissed the appeal and confirmed the order passed by the respondent No.2 Collector. As noted above, this Court issued notice in the present writ petition and granted adinterim relief in favour of the petit