Important Point:
Issuance of good conduct certificate by a Sarpanch of a Gram Panchayat, clearly does not fall within the purview of the executive functions of a Sarpanch, as laid down in Section55 of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993. The duties and functions of a Sarpanch are meticulously delineated in the said provision and no Sarpanch can assume upon himself, or herself, the authority to perform any other role in his, or her, capacity as a Sarpanch, other than what is stated in the Statute.

Abhilasha Kumari, J.

1. These applications have been preferred by the applicants with a prayer to enlarge them on temporary bail for different reasons as stated in the respective applications. We have considered it appropriate to pass a consolidated order in the present applications, though the facts would be dealt with separately, for the reason that in each of these applications, we find a recommendatory certificate of the Sarpanch of the concerned Gram Panchayat attached as an annexure. The tone and tenor of these certificates is that the convict may be released on bail for the purpose stated in the application.

2. The issuance of such a certificate by a Sarpanch of a Gram Panchayat, clearly does not fall within the purview of the executive functions of a Sarpanch, as laid down in Section55 of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993. The duties and functions of a Sarpanch are meticulously delineated in the said provision and no Sarpanch can assume upon himself, or herself, the authority to perform any other role in his, or her, capacity as a Sarpanch, other than what is stated in the Statute. Subsection (2) of Section55, which lays down the duties of a Sarpanch is reproduced hereinbelow :

“55. Executive functions of Sarpanch, or Upa-Sarpanch:

(1) *****

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision

(a) the Sarpanch shall

(i) preside over and regulate the meetings of the panchayat.

(ii) exercise supervision and control over the acts done and actions taken by all officers and servants of the panchayat.

(iii) incur contingent expenditure upon fifty rupees at anyone occasion.

(iv) Operate on the fund of the panchayat including authorization of payment, issue of cheques and refunds;

(v) be responsible for the safe custody of the fund of the panchayat.

(vi) Cause to prepared all statements and reports required by or under this Act;

(vii) exercise such other powers and discharge such other functions as may be conferred or imposed upon him by this Act or rules made thereunder.****”

3. The above are the functions and duties of a Sarpanch, which clearly do not include the issuance of certificates recommending the enlargement of convicts on temporary bail, for any reason whatsoever, in the official capacity as a Sarpanch.

4. Of late we are almost deluged by certificates of this nature, issued by Sarpanchas, Municipal Councilors, Members of the Municipalities and even Talati-cum-Mantris. Every second or third application for temporary bail filed by the convict, be it through Jail or through counsel, is accompanied by a certificate recommending the release of the convict, for reasons stated in the certificate, which correspond with the reason stated in the application filed by the convict.

5. Had it been a singular case, or had such certificates surfaced once in a while, we would have ignored them. However, as the volume of such certificates is increasing day-by-day, we can no longer ignore this phenomenon. What is more, each certificate is written on the official letterhead of the Sarpanch of the concerned Gram Panchayat, and the official seal is fixed under the signature. In all matters except Criminal Misc. Application No.14954/2017, there is no outward number on the certificate, indicating that it does not form a part of the record of the Gram Panchayat.

6. We cannot but observe that such recommendatory certificates, issued by elected representatives at whatever level of hierarchy, constitute a direct interference in the functions of the Court and seek to influence the independent application of mind by the Court. This causes an obstruction in the performance of our judicial functions and is a hindrance in the administration of justice. We deprecate such a practice and take serious note of it.

7. We shall now deal with each individual application separately.

Criminal Misc. Application No.14950/2017:

8. The convict applicant has preferred this application dated 05.06.2017, through Jail, with a prayer to enlarge him on temporary b