Procedural compliance under Section 24 of the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act is mandatory; deviations may invalidate proceedings. The court confirmed that the notice for No Confidence Motion adhered to statutory requirements.

Judgment :

Sanjeeb K Panigrahi, J.

1. The petitioner in the present Writ Petition challenges the notice dated 25.09.2025 issued under Section 24(2)(c) and (d) of the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1964, in the absence of any prescribed Rules, and the consequential decision of the Sub-Collector, Nabarangpur fixing 14.10.2025 at 11.00 A.M. for holding the no confidence meeting in the Gram Panchayat Office, Dahana.

I. FACTUAL MATRIX OF THE CASE:

2. Succinctly put, the facts of the case are as follows:

(i) Pursuant to the election held in the year 2022 for the office of Sarpanch of Dahana Gram Panchayat in the district of Nabarangapur, the petitioner was elected by the mandate of the public by securing a majority over the contesting candidates and has since been discharging her duties as Sarpanch in accordance with the provisions of the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1964.

(ii) A notice dated 25.09.2025 was issued by the Sub-Collector, Nabarangapur under Section 24 of the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1964, fixing 14.10.2025 at 11.00 A.M. for holding a No Confidence Motion in the office of Dahana Gram Panchayat in respect of the petitioner, who was holding the office of Sarpanch.

(iii) The notice dated 25.09.2025 was served upon the petitioner on 01.10.2025. No copy of the requisition or the resolution was served upon the petitioner. The petitioner accepted service of the notice with objection regarding compliance with the statutory requirements.

(iv) Being aggrieved by the issuance of the notice dated 25.09.2025 for holding a No Confidence Motion under Section 24 of the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1964, the petitioner has invoked the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India.

II. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER:

3. Learned counsel for the Petitioner earnestly made the following submissions in support of his contentions.

(i) It was submitted that the notice dated 25.09.2025 for holding a No Confidence Motion under Section 24 of the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1964 was served upon and accepted by the petitioner on 01.10.2025 under objection, as neither a copy of the requisition nor the proposed resolution was ever served upon the petitioner.

(ii) It was further submitted that a plain reading of Section 24 of the Act makes it abundantly clear that the legislature has consciously prescribed mandatory requirements which must be strictly complied with before an elected representative under the Gram Panchayat Act can be unseated. The initiation of a no confidence motion must strictly conform to the procedure prescribed under the Act and the Rules framed thereunder. Section 24(2) mandates that no meeting can be convened except on a valid requisition signed by at least one-third of the total membership of the Gram Panchayat along with a copy of the proposed resolution, addressed to the Sub-Divisional Officer. Upon receipt thereof, the Sub-Divisional Officer is required to issue notice to all members holding office along with copies of the requisition and resolution at least fifteen clear days prior to the date fixed for the meeting.

(iii) It was submitted that on a bare reading of the impugned notice, confusion arises as to whether the same has been issued in purported compliance with Section 24(2)(c) or Section 24(2)(d) of the Act. In any event, the notice admittedly received on 01.10.2025 does not satisfy the mandat