15. Disqualifications of Adhayaksha and Upadhyaksha and members of Gram Panchayat.
(1)Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter, a person shall not be qualified for being elected or appointed an Adhyaksha or Upadhyaksha or a member of a Gram Panchayat, if -(a)he is under twenty-five years of age; or(aa)[ he is not a citizen of India; or] [Clauses (aa) and (aaa) inserted by W.B. Act 27 of 1965.](aaa)[ he is in the service of the Central or State Government or of the Zilla Parishad of the district or of an Anchalik Parishad, an Anchal Panchayat or a Gram Panchayat within the district; or] [Clauses (aa) and (aaa) inserted by W.B. Act 27 of 1965.](b)he has been dismissed from the service of the Central or State Government or local authority for misconduct involving moral turpitude and where the dismissal has been made by the Central or State Government, he has been debarred from employment in public service; or(c)he has directly or indirectly, by himself or by his partner or employer or an employee, any share or interest in any contract with, by or on behalf of the Gram Panchayat :Provided that no person shall be deemed to be disqualified for being elected or appointed as Adhyaksha, Upadhyaksha or a member of a Gram Panchayat by reason only of his having a share or interest in any public company as defined in the Companies Act, 1956, which contracts with or is employed by the Gram Panchayat, or(d)he has been adjudged by a competent Court to be of unsound mind; or(e)he is an undischarged insolvent; or(f)he being a discharged insolvent has not obtained from the Court a certificate that his insolvency was caused by misfortune without any misconduct on his part; or(g)any tax, toll, fee or rate due from him under this Act Words and figures inserted by W.B. Act 15 of 1959.[or under the Village Chaukidari Act, 1870, the Bengal Village Chaukidari Act, 1871 or the Bengal Village Self-Government Act, 1919] for the year previous to that in which the election is held remains unpaid.(2)If any person is or has been convicted by a criminal court of an offence punishable with transportation or imprisonment for a period of more than six months, such person shall not be eligible for election or appointment as Adhyaksha or Upadhyaksha or as a member of Gram Panchayat, for five years from the date of expiration of the sentence :Provided that on application made by a person disqualified under this sub-section, the State Government may, if satisfied on sufficient cause being shown, remove the disqualification by an order made in this behalf and shall do so if, in the opinion of the State Government, the offence does not involve moral turpitude.
