Point of Law : Court is of considered view that office of President of Karimganj Zilla Parishad did not cease to have been vacated by petitioner at any point of time, contrary to view held by State respondent authorities.

JUDGMENT :

In the first of the two writ petitions filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, that is, W.P.[C] no. 5512/2021, the petitioner has, interalia, sought for setting aside and quashing of a letter bearing no. KDV[G]29/Pt-II/2019/15 dated 05.10.2021 of the respondent no. 3 i.e. the Deputy Commissioner, Karimganj wherein it is observed that the letter of withdrawal of resignation from the petitioner was received on 04.10.2021, which was after the expiry of the statutory period of 15 [fifteen] days from the date of the petitioner’s letter of resignation from the office of President, Karimganj Zilla Parishad dated 18.09.2021, and also for a direction to the respondent authorities to approve the withdrawal of the letter of resignation dated 01.10.2021. After institution of the first writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 5512/2021 on 07.10.2021, the petitioner has instituted the second writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 5615/2021 on 22.10.2021 challenging [i] a letter bearing no. PDA.208/2021/3 dated 11.10.2021 of the respondent no. 1 i.e. the Principal Secretary to the Government of Assam, Panchayat & Rural Development Department informing the respondent no. 3 that the resignation of the petitioner from the office of President, Karimganj Zilla Parishad had been accepted as per the provision of Section 72[1] of the Assam Panchayat Act, 1994, as amended; [ii] a letter bearing no. KDV[G]29/Pt-II/2019/20 dated 19.10.2021 of the respondent no. 3 and addressed to the respondent no. 4 i.e. the Chief Executive Officer, Karimganj Zilla Parishad intimating about acceptance of the letter of resignation of the petitioner; and [iii] a letter bearing no. KZP.186/2021/1047 dated 19.10.2021 of the respondent no. 4 and addressed to the respondent no. 1 whereby it has been informed that the respondent no. 5 who has been acting as the Vice-President of Karimganj Zilla Parishad, had submitted his joining report on 19.10.2021 as the In-Charge President of Karimganj Zilla Parishad, by signing the oath of affirmation of the said office.

2. As the issues involved in the two writ petitions are inter-connected and relate to the matters of the petitioner’s tendering of resignation and subsequent act of withdrawal of resignation and also about validity of acceptance or otherwise of withdrawal of resignation from the post of President, Karimganj Zilla Parishad, they are taken up together at the stage of admission at the request of the learned counsel for the parties.

3. The sequence of events which have led the petitioner to institute the two writ petitions can be exposited, in brief, as follows :

3.1. In the Panchayat General Election, the petitioner got directly elected as a Member of the Karimganj Zilla Parishad from one of its territorial constituencies. After constitution of the Karimganj Zilla Parishad, the petitioner had been elected as the President of the Karimganj Zilla Parishad in terms of the provisions contained in Section 70 of the Assam Panchayat Act, 1994, as amended [‘the Assam Panchayat Act’, for short], on 07.11.2019. After being so elected, the petitioner took the oath of affirmation of the said office.

3.2. It was on 18.09.2021 the petitioner addressing a letter of resignation of even date to the respondent no. 3, informed the respondent no. 3 that he had tendered resignation from the office of President of Karimganj Zilla Parishad due to personal reasons. The letter of resignation dated 18.09.2021 was received by the respondent no. 3 on 18.09.2021 and on receipt of the same, the respondent no. 3 forwarded the said letter of resignation dated 18.09.2021 of the petitioner to the respondent no. 1 on 18.09.2021 itself by a letter bearing no. KDV[G]29/Pt-II/2019/13 dated 18.09.2021.

3.3. At this juncture, it is apposite to mention that prior to the event of tendering the resignation from the office of President, Karimganj Zilla Parishad by the petitioner on 18.09.2021, 9 [nine] nos. of Members of Karimganj Zilla Parishad had