The District Collector cannot revoke the cheque signing power of elected Panchayat officials under Section 203 without extraordinary circumstances and must adhere to principles of natural justice.

ORDER :

1. Challenging the impugned order passed by the first respondent in Na.Ka.No.A2/0100/2022 dated 27.08.2024, this Writ Petition is filed.

2. The petitioner was elected as President of Nerur South Village Panchayat in 2019. He is a member of the AIADMK party. During 2021, there was a change in the State Government. Following which, the Vice President and other ward members of the ruling party did not cooperate with the functioning of the petitioner. The Vice President colluded with the second respondent and had fraudulently entered the ruling party members' names in the attendance register of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (hereinafter to be mentioned as MGNREGS), of 100 days employment work and insisted the petitioner to approve the said list. Agitated by the same, the petitioner lodged a complaint before the jurisdictional police station. He also lodged complaints as against the ruling party members as to the illegal acts pertaining to land smuggling. However, no action was taken as against his complaint. In addition to that, the second respondent frequently changed the Panchayat Clerk as many as 7 times much to the difficulty of the proper administration of the Village Panchayat. Whenever the Panchayat Clerk acted against the Vice President, immediately at his instance the respective Panchayat Clerks were transferred. While being so, the members of the ruling party made as many as 19 complaints as against the petitioner based on fabricated incidents. None of the public have lodged any complaint as against the petitioner. On 28.04.2023 invoking Section 203 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act, 1994, the first respondent passed an order handing over the right of the Village Panchayat financial transaction to the second respondent. The petitioner immediately challenged the same before this Court in W.P.(MD)No.15311 of 2023 and this Court, by order dated 28.06.2024, passed an order setting aside the impugned order of handing over the right of financial transaction of the Village Panchayat to the second respondent.

3. Pursuant to the same, enquiry notice was issued to the petitioner on 29.07.2024, calling upon to give his explanation. In the meanwhile, salary to the OHT operators, sanitary and other workers for the month of June and July 2024 was delayed and on 01.01.2024 onwards, pipeline, electric motor, street light maintenance charges were also not paid due to the absence of Village Panchayat Clerk. In this regard, the petitioner submitted a representation on 08.08.2024, to the respondents, but no action was taken. In the meanwhile, the petitioner submitted a detailed written explanation on 20.08.2024, for the notice caused upon him on 29.07.2024. On 27.08.2024, the first respondent passed the impugned order, issuing cheque signing power to the second respondent and the same was received by the petitioner on 29.08.2024. Claiming the same to be a non-speaking order, this Writ Petition is filed.

4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner categorically submitted that the District Collector is not at all empowered to take away the cheque signing power of President and Vice President of the Village Panchayat in exercise of power under Section 203. The power under Section 203 is mandated only under extraordinary circumstances. The power to sign cheques is statutorily conferred on the President and Vice President of the Village Panchayats and the same cannot be abridged by the District Collector by acting as an extra constitutional authority and on that basis, claimed that the impugned order is bad in the eye of law and the same will not stand the scrutiny of law and pressed for allowing the Writ Petition by setting aside the impugned order.

5. Per contra on the basis of the counter affidavit filed by the second respondent, the learned AAG submitted that the petitioner was elected as President of Nerur South Village Panchayat in the year 2019. All the arguments made by the learned counsel for the pet