Point of Law: continuity and stability of the Panchayati Raj Institutions is one of the objectives of the Constitutent 73rd Amendment Act. If any motion of no-confidence is moved against the elected Sarpanch immediately after election without even permitting the said elected Sarpanch to work for a reasonable time, the same would run contrary to the spirit and objective behind the 73rd Constitution Amendment Act, 1992.

ORDER :

(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA)

1. By this Writ Application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the writ applicant has prayed for the following reliefs :-

“(A) Be pleased to issue a writ of prohibition or in the nature of prohibition or any other appropriate writ, order or direction and hold and declare that the passing of motion of no confidence against the petitioner is ex-facie illegal, arbitrary and ultra-vires;

(B) Be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction and hold and declare that the proceedings preferred by the petitioner before the Taluka Development Officer and the Appeal Committee of the District Panchayat are of no consequences since no such proceedings are maintainable against passing of motion of no confidence;

(C) Be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, and quash and set aside the Notification dated June 25, 2018 issued by the State Election Commission for holding election of the Sarpanch of Beran Gram Panchayat;

(D) Pending admission, final disposal of this petition be pleased to stay operation, implementation and execution of the Notification dated June 25, 2018 issued by the State Election Commission for holding election of the Sarpanch of Beran Gram Panchayat; (E) Pending admission, final disposal of this petition be pleased to stay operation, implementation and execution of resolution recording motion of no confidence recorded against the petitioner in the meeting of the Gram Panchayat held on June 1, 2017 and be further pleased to direct that no respondent shall prevent the petitioner from discharging his duties as the Sarpanch of Beran Gram Panchayat;

(F) Any other and further orders which this Hon'ble Court deems just and proper may please be granted in the interest of justice.”

2. The facts giving rise to this Writ Application may be summarized as under:-

(a) The writ applicant was elected as the Sarpanch of the Beran Gram Panchayat, District Porbandar sometime in April 2017. The first meeting of the Gram Panchayat was convened on 08.05.2017. There are in all 7 members of the Gram Panchayat and one Sarpanch. It appears that within 23 days from the date, the writ applicant was elected and took charge as the Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat, the respondents No.7 to 12 herein in their capacity as the members of the Gram Panchayat moved a motion of no confidence dated 12.05.2018 against him. On 01.06.2017, a meeting was convened to consider the motion of no confidence moved by the 6 members of the Gram Panchayat. The Deputy Sarpanch presided over the meeting convened on 01.06.2017 and the motion was passed with 2/3rd majority.

(b) The writ applicant being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the manner in which he came to be removed as the Sarpanch took up the matter with the Taluka Development Officer under Section 249 of the Gujarat Panchayat Act, 1993. The Taluka Development Officer by his order dated 19.06.2018 declined to interfere.

(c) The writ applicant thereafter preferred an Appeal against the order passed by the Taluka Development Officer before the Appeal Committee of the District Panchayat, Porbandar. The Appeal Committee vide its resolution dated 03.03.2018 dismissed the Appeal preferred by the writ applicant.

(d) Being dissatisfied with the aforesaid, the writ applicant is before this Court with the present writ application.

3. Mr. B.M. Mangukiya, the learned Counsel appearing for the writ applicant vehemently submitted that the writ applicant could not have been removed as the Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat by moving a motion of no confidence within a period of 23 days from the date the writ applicant came to be elected as the Sarpanch. He would argue that even other wise there was no good ground for the 6 members of the Gram Panchayat to move the motion of no confidence. According to Mr. Mangukiya, the issue raised in this wr