ORDER :

(Ravindra V. Ghuge, J.) :

1. Three persons are Petitioners before us, who are the elected members of the Grampanchayat Jambhala, Tq. Hadgaon Dist. Nanded. Respondent No.8 is the former Sarpanch of the said village, who suffered no confidence motion on 07.11.2023 by 3/4th majority. She was ousted. Thereafter, the post of Sarpanch has been put up for election scheduled on 14.12.2023. The post is reserved for ‘Scheduled Caste woman category’. Respondent No.8 is the only Scheduled Caste woman, amongst all the elected members of the Grampanchayat. This Petition has been filed by the Petitioners on an apprehension that she would again contest on 14th December, 2023 and being the sole Scheduled Caste Woman candidate, she would be again elected as a Sarpanch, unopposed.

2. The Petitioners submit that when Respondent No.8 Sarpanch was ousted by a no confidence motion, it would be unbecoming on her part to re-contest the election and under fortuitous circumstances, she would be surely elected, if she contests, as she is the only ‘Scheduled Caste woman’ elected member of the Grampanchayat. Reliance is placed upon the judgment of the learned Single Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Sukhwant Singh Vs. State of Punjab and others, 2013 (5) Law Herald 4067.

3. Section 35 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959 (for short, Maharashtra Act) reads as under:

35. Motion of no confidence. - (1) A motion of no confidence may be moved by not less than [two third] of the total number of the members who are for the time being entitled to sit and vote at any meeting of the panchayat against the Sarpanch or the Upa-Sarpanch after giving such notice thereof to the Tahsildar as may be prescribed. [Such notice once given shall not be withdrawn.]

“(1A) In respect of the panchayat to which the Sarpanch is directly elected under section 30A- 1A, the provisions of this section shall apply with the following modifications:-

(a) in sub-section (1), for the words "one-third" the words "two third" shall be substituted;

(b) in sub-section (3), for the portion beginning with the words "If the motion" and ending with the words "against the Sarpanch;" the following portion shall be substituted, namely :-

“If the motion of no-confidence is carried by a majority of not less than three-fourth of the total number of the members who are for the time being entitled to sit and vote at any meeting of the panchayat, the Sarpanch or the Upa-Sarpanch, as the case may be, and ratified before the special Gram Sabha by the secret ballot in the presence and under the Chairmanship of the Officer appointed for the purpose by the Collector, shall forthwith stop, exercising all the powers and, performing all the functions and duties of the office and thereupon such powers, functions and duties shall vest in the Upa-Sarpanch, in case the motion is carried out against the Sarpanch”.

(c) for the fourth proviso, the following provisos shall be substituted, namely :-

“Provided also that, no such motion of no-confidence shall be brought within a period of two years from the date of election of Sarpanch or Upa-Sarpanch and before the six months preceding the date on which the term of panchayat expires :

Provided also that, if the no-confidence motion fails, then no motion shall be brought before the passage of time of next two years.”

(2) Within seven days from the date of receipt by him of the notice under sub-section (1), the Tahasildar, shall convene a special meeting of the panchayat at a time to be appointed by him and he shall preside over such meeting. At such special meeting, the Sarpanch or the Upa-Sarpanch against whom the motion of no confidence is moved shall have a right to speak or otherwise to take part in the proceedings at the meeting (including the right to vote).

(3) If the motion is carried by a majority of not less than three-fourth] of the total number of the members who are for the time being entitled to sit and vote at any meeting of the panchayat or the Up