The case established the importance of valid issuance and service of a whip, and the need for proper maintenance of official files.

JUDGMENT

These two appeals are being disposed of by one judgment since common questions of law and fact are involved and both the appeals arise out of one judgment passed by the learned Single Bench of this Court in two writ petitions. The undisputed facts of the case are that elections to the Noorpur Gram Panchayat were held in the year 2009. The appellants Lechu Miah and Md. Hachan Ali were candidates of the Indian National Congress (for short INC) in the said elections. They were both elected as members of the Gram Panchayat, Noorpur. Md. Kabir Hussain (Respondent No. 10), Md. Ranu Miah (Respondent No. 11), Md. Safik Ali (Respondent No. 12) and Mustt. Asma Begum (Respondent No. 13) were also elected as members of the gram panchayat as INC candidates. Md. Mahammad Ali (Respondent No. 7), Smti. Tara Kumari Singha (Respondent No. 8) and Smti Rajia Begum (Respondent No. 9) were elected as the representatives of the rival political party. Thereafter Md. Kabir Hussain and Md. Ranu Miah were elected as Pradhan and Upa-Pradhan of the Panchayat.

2. Both the appellants and respondents 7, 8 and 9 issued notice under Section 23(2) of the Tripura Panchayats Act, 1993 moving a no confidence motion against the Pradhan and Upa-Pradhan on 14.05.2010. This notice was presented before the District Panchayat Officer, respondent No. 3 who issued a letter on 18.05.2010 directing that a special meeting of the Noorpur Gram Panchayat be held on 08.06.2010 at 10.30 a.m. in the office of the Noorpur Gram Panchayat for consideration of this motion. He also authorized respondent No. 5, Sri Debasish Datta Roy, Panchayat Extension Officer to preside over the meeting. In the said meeting, the no confidence motion was put to vote and both the appellants and respondents 7 to 9 voted in favour of the motion. The motion was carried and respondents 10 and 11 were unseated from the post of Pradhan and Upa-Pradhan.

3. It is not disputed that the petitioners who were elected as members of the Noorpur Gram Panchayat as candidates of the INC voted against respondents 10 and 11 who also belonged to their party i.e. INC. Thereafter proceedings were initiated against the petitioners for disqualifying them in terms of Section 16of the Tripura Panchayats Act, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The respondent No. 4 vide his order dated 21.07.2010 held that the petitioners disobeyed the whip issued to them by their party and, therefore, disqualified them. The orders disqualifying the petitioners were challenged by the petitioners Md. Hachan Ali and Lechu Miah in Writ Petition No. 318 of 2010 and Writ Petition No. 317 of 2010. Both the writ petitions were dismissed by a common judgment. Hence these appeals.

4. The first contention of Sri N. Das, learned counsel appearing for the appellant-writ petitioners is that in terms of Section 16 of the Act the whip has to be issued by a person or authority authorized by the political party in this behalf. In the present case, he submits that Md. Badruzzaman, respondent No. 6 who issued the whip was not duly authorized. In the alternative, he submits that only Shri Surajit Dutta was authorized to issue the whip and he could not have further delegated the power vested in him to Md. Badruzzaman. He, therefore, submits that Rule 27 of the Tripura Panchayats (Administration) Rules, 1994 has been violated. The next submission of Shri N. Das is that the respondent No. 5 did not follow the procedure prescribed under Rule 27 and did not seek any clarification from the appellant-writ petitioners. He, therefore, submits that Rule 27 has been violated and the impugned action is, therefore, illegal. It is also submitted that the whip was never served upon the petitioners. He also submits that not only was the whip not served upon the petitioners but even the other 4(four) persons who belonged to the Congress Party did not produce the whip(s) allegedly received by them. He also raises an issue that if the letter containing