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1993 Supreme(P&H) 525
PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT
G.R.Majithia and Harmohinder Kaur Sandhu JJ.
Nar Singh
Versus
State Of Haryana
Civil Writ Petition No. 9228 of 1993,
Decided On : AUGUST 3, 1993
The court upheld the authority of the Deputy Commissioner to order suspension and regular enquiry under Section 102 (1-A) of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 based on prima facie established charges.
Headnote:
Suspension - Sarpanch - The court upheld the order of suspension of the petitioner from the office of Sarpanch based on prima facie established charges, finding the Deputy Commissioner's actions justified under Section 102 (1-A) of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner challenged the order of suspension from the office of Sarpanch under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, citing trivial charges, but the court found the charges prima facie established and justified the Deputy Commissioner's actions.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the regular enquiry against the petitioner was ordered before the suspension, and the charges against the petitioner stood prima facie established, justifying the Deputy Commissioner's actions.
Issues: The issues involved the validity of the order of suspension and the justification for the Deputy Commissioner's actions under Section 102 (1-A) of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the power exercised by the Deputy Commissioner was not beyond jurisdiction and that it was for the competent authority to decide whether an action under Section 102 (2) was called for based on the proved facts.
Final Decision: The writ petition failed, and the court dismissed it, upholding the order of suspension from the office of Sarpanch.
G.R.Majithia and H.K.Sandhu JJ.
1. The petitioner has challenged the order of suspension from the office of Sarpanch contained in Endst. No. Panchayat-93/2212-15, dated June 7,1993 in this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India.
2. The Deputy Commissioner, Yamunanagar exercising the powers under Section 102 (1-A) of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 (for short, the Act) placed the petitioner under suspension and also ordered initiation of a regular enquiry against him with regard to certain complaints made against him. The order of suspension was challenged by the petitioner in appeal under Section 102 (5) of the Act preferred before the Commissioner & Secretary to Government, Haryana, Development and Panchayat Department, Chandigarh. The appellate authority, after appraising the records, came to the conclusion that the regular enquiry against the petitioner was ordered vide Endst. No. Panchayat-93/2208-11, dated June 7, 1993 and the order of suspension was passed after the regular enquiry was ordered against him. He further found that during the course of preliminary enquiry, the charges levelled against the petitioner stood prima facie established and that the Deputy Commissioner was justified in ordering regular enquiry on the basis of those charges.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted" that the charges were trivial. We cannot go into this matter in writ jurisdiction. It was for the competent authority to decide whether on the proved facts an action under Section 102 (2) was called for. The power exercised by the Deputy Commissioner cannot be said to be beyond jurisdiction.
4. For the reasons stated above, the writ petition fails and is dismissed.
