Bureaucrats can't be allowed to frustrate grassroot democracy: SC

The Supreme Court has said bureaucrats couldn't be allowed to "frustrate grassroot democracy" and upheld a Bombay high court order reinstating a woman as the sarpanch of a Maharashtra village.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said it noticed several recent instances from the state where bureaucrats misbehaved with the elected representatives of Panchayats.

"We have given judgements in two-three cases where babus were found to be misbehaving with the elected representatives. This is happening typically in Maharashtra. These babus should be under the elected representatives. These bureaucrats cannot be allowed to frustrate the grass root democracy," it said.

The court also came across bureaucrats trying to open old cases to disqualify elected representatives especially at grassroot level.

"They (bureaucrats) try to open old cases like your grandfather has encroached upon government land and hence you are disqualified," Justice Surya Kant told the counsel for Archana Sachin Bhosale, whose election as the sarpanch was set aside by the high court on January 29.

Reinstating Kalavati Rajendra Kokale as the sarpanch, the top court upheld the high court quashing the June 7, 2024 order of the collector of Raigad district declaring a vacancy for the post of sarpanch in village Ainghar, Taluka-Roha and appointing a returning officer to conduct the election.

"We are inclined to agree with the view taken by the high court... we uphold and affirm the continuation of respondent number 1 (Kokale) as the duly elected pradhan of the Gram Panchayat, Ainghar Taluka-Roha, district Raigad," the bench said in its March 7 order.

Kokale was aggrieved with the June 7, 2024 order of the collector confirming her resignation from sarpanch's post under Section 29 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act despite her withdrawing the resignation.

The high court held her resignation "did not take effect" owing to her withdrawing it during a meeting held on March 15, 2024.

"The collector has erroneously arrived at a conclusion that the post of the sarpanch had fallen vacant without appreciating the position that resignation was already withdrawn," it said.

The high court, therefore, found the collector's order "illegal" and "liable to be set aside".

Bhosale's election, as a result, was held to be "ab initio void".

"Since petitioner did not vacate the post of sarpanch, there is no question of election of respondent number 4 to that post," the high court said.

It noted though there was no specific provision in Section 29 of the Village Panchayats Act for withdrawal of resignation, a member, upa sarpanch or sarpanch tendering resignation had an inherent right to withdraw the same.

Election for the Gram Panchayat, Ainghar was conducted in February, 2021, and Kokale was elected as sarpanch, a post reserved for the backward class women.

Kokale withdrawing her resignation was intimated to the authorities concerned including the block development officer and the tehsildar.

The Raigad district collector, however, on June 7, 2024 said her resignation had been accepted by the chairperson, Pachayat Samiti, Roha, and Bhosale was subsequently elected on June 13, 2024.

On September 27, last year, in another case from Maharashtra, the top court said removal of an elected public representative should not be treated lightly, especially when it concerned women belonging to rural areas.