JUDGMENT :

1. The writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been instituted by the petitioner assailing the Minutes of a special meeting held, at 02-30 p.m. on 12.01.2023, in the office of Algapur Anchalik Panchayat to discuss a motion of no confidence brought against the petitioner as the President of No. 1 North Narainpur Gaon Panchayat on the basis of a requisition notice submitted by 9 [nine] nos. of Ward Members on 02.06.2022 expressing want of confidence in the petitioner to continue as the President of No. 1 North Narainpur Gaon Panchayat and requesting the respondent no. 6 i.e. the Secretary, No. 1 North Narainpur Gaon Panchayat to convene a special meeting. The petitioner has also sought for a direction in the nature of mandamus to the respondent authorities to reinstate the petitioner as the President of No. 1 North Narainpur Gaon Panchayat and to allow him to exercise all the powers and to perform all the functions and duties of the President of North Narainpur Gaon Panchayat.

2. At the inception, it is apt to mention that there are several rounds of previous litigations as regards the matter of no confidence motion subsequent to submission of the requisition notice dated 02.06.2022 and it appears necessary to have a narration on the sequence of events that took place on and from 02.06.2022 up to 12.01.2023.

3. In the General Panchayat Election held in the year 2018, the petitioner contested for the post of President of No. 1 North Narainpur Gaon Panchayat. In the General Panchayat Election so held, the petitioner got elected to the post of President of No. 1 North Narainpur Gaon Panchayat [hereinafter also referred as ‘the Gaon Panchayat’, at places, for convenience] as per the provisions of Section 6[1][b] of the Assam Panchayat Act, 1994, as amended. In the said General Panchayat Election, the respondent nos. 7 – 15 also got themselves elected as Ward Members of the Goan Panchayat. Apart from the respondent nos. 7 – 15, there is another Ward Member who also got elected as a Ward Member from one of the 10 [ten] Wards under the Gaon Panchayat. No. 1 North Narainpur Gaon Panchayat consists of 10 nos. of Ward Members. After the Election, the respondent no. 15 got elected as the Vice-President of the Gaon Panchayat in terms of the provisions of Section 6[3] of the Assam Panchayat Act, 1994, as amended.

3.1. On 02.06.2022, 9 [nine] nos. of Ward Members of the Gaon Panchayat submitted a requisition notice addressing the same to the Secretary of the Gaon Panchayat, that is, the respondent no. 6 expressing want of confidence in the President of the Gaon Panchayat i.e. the petitioner and sought for convening of a special meeting to discuss the motion of no confidence. By the requisition notice dated 02.06.2022, 9 [nine] nos. of Ward Members also requested the respondent no. 6 to notify the time, date and venue of the special meeting to be convened. On receipt of the requisition notice dated 02.06.2022, the respondent no. 6 stated to have brought the said requisition notice to the knowledge of the petitioner on 04.06.2022. According to the petitioner, he had put his comments on the file asking the Secretary of the Gaon Panchayat to wait so that he could discuss the matter and take necessary steps as per the provisions of the Assam Panchayat Act, 1994. It transpires that the Secretary of the Gaon Panchayat had thereafter, referred the requisition notice containing the matter of no confidence motion to the President, Algapur Anchalik Panchayat on 16.06.2022. On receipt of the letter dated 16.06.2022 from the Secretary of the Gaon Panchayat, the President of Algapur Anchalik Panchayat issued a notice to the stakeholders convening a special meeting to discuss the motion of no confidence against the petitioner on 22.06.2022.

3.2. Assailing such convening of the special meeting by the President of Algapur Anchalik Panchayat on 22.06.2022 to discuss the motion of no confidence against him, the petitioner inst