JUDGMENT

Manish Pitale, J. - Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally with the consent of the learned counsel appearing for the parties.

2. By this writ petition, the petitioner has challenged order dated 06.08.2018 passed by the respondent no.2- Additional Collector holding that the petitioner was liable to be disqualified under Section 14(1)(j-3) of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959 on the ground of having encroached upon Government land and order dated 29.11.2018 passed by the respondent no.1- Additional Commissioner, dismissing the appeal of the petitioner and confirming the order of respondent no.2.

3. The petitioner was elected as Member of the Gram Panchayat Amdapur, Tahsil Chikhali, District Buldhana, in August, 2015. The respondent no.3 submitted an application for disqualification of the petitioner under Section 14(1)(j-3) of the aforesaid Act on 03.01.2018, contending that although the available Aakhiv Patrika demonstrated that the house in which the petitioner was living with her husband, was on plot admeasuring 1196 sq.ft., the petitioner and her family had actually constructed the house on excess area i.e. on 1352 sq.ft. On this basis, it was contended that the excess area of 156 sq.ft. was illegally taken from Government land, thereby showing the encroachment and making the petitioner liable for disqualification under the aforesaid provision.

4. In pursuance of the said application filed by the respondent no.3, the respondent no.2 -Additional Collector called for a report from the Circle Officer, Amdapur, as regards the allegations made in the application. On 17.02.2018 the Circle Officer Amdapur along with the Talathi of Amdapur submitted a report stating that the property in question bearing no. 866 appeared to be covering a total area of 1352 sq.ft. as per property card but since there was a partition in the brothers, there appeared to be separate portions of the said property. It was further recorded in the said report that since there was absence of markings of F Class land, it was necessary that a spot inspection and measurement is carried out for ascertaining the facts. Thereafter, on 07.04.2018 the Circle Officer along with the Talathi and the Rural Development Officer submitted a report to the respondent no.2 Additional Collector stating that upon visiting the spot, it was found that as per the record of the Gram Panchyat the area of the property was supposed to be 1352 sq.ft. but the actual measurement showed that the property covered 1566 sq.ft. and further that there was a slab constructed on a Nali (drain) on the front side of the property in the western direction which ad-measured 195.50 sq.ft.

5. On the basis of the aforesaid material that came on record, the respondent no.2 Additional Collector passed the impugned order dated 06.08.2018, holding that when the area of the property as per the Gram Panchayat record was supposed to be 1352 sq.ft. and the actual dimensions of the property in possession of the petitioner was found to be 1566 sq.ft. , it was clear that the petitioner had illegally constructed upon Government land and it was proved that there was encroachment in the present case. On this basis, the respondent no.2- Additional Collector allowed the application of the respondent no.3 and held that the petitioner stood disqualified as Member of the said Gram Panchayat. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner filed appeal before the respondent no.1 -Additional Commissioner under Section 16(2) of the aforesaid Act. By the impugned order dated 29.11.2018, the respondent no.1- Additional Commissioner dismissed the appeal and confirmed the order of the respondent no.2- Additional Collector. In the said order, the respondent no.1- Additional Commissioner held that even the sale deed of the said property demonstrated that there was Government land on the east and that the material on record demonstrated that the petitioner was in possession of property admeasuring 1566 sq.ft., t