Section 131 in The Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994
131. Casual vacancies.
(1)If any person having been elected as an office bearer of a Panchayat -(a)subsequently becomes subject to any of the disqualification mentioned in section 122 and such disqualifications is not removable or being removable is not removed;(b)absents himself from three consecutive meetings of the Panchayat or its Committee or does not attend half the number of meetings held during the period of six months without the leave of the Panchayat;he shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), cease to be such office bearer and his office shall become vacant:Provided that where an application is made by an office bearer to the Panchayat for leave to absent himself under clause (b) and the Panchayat fails to inform the applicant of its decision on the application within a period of one month from the date of receipt of the application, the leave applied for, shall be deemed to have been granted by the Panchayat.(2)In every case the authority competent to decide whether a vacancy has occurred under sub-section (1) shall be the Deputy Commissioner in respect of Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti and the Director in respect of Zila Parishad who may give his decision either on an application made to him by any person or on his own motion. Until the Deputy Commissioner or the Director, as the case may be, decides that the vacancy has occurred, the person shall not cease to be an office bearer:Provided that no order shall be passed under this sub-section against any office bearer without giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard.(3)Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Deputy Commissioner or the Director, as the case may be, under sub-section (2) may, within a period of 30 days from the date of such decision, appeal to the Director or the State Government respectively, whose orders on such appeal shall be final.(4)In the event of death, resignation or removal of an office bearer or his ceasing to be an office bearer under sub-section (1) or his becoming a Member of State Legislative Assembly or a Member of either House of Parliament before the expiry of his term, a casual vacancy shall be deemed to have occurred in his office and such vacancy shall be filled as soon as may be by election, in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder. A person elected to fill the vacancy shall take office forthwith for the unexpired term of his predecessor.(5)In the event of casual vacancy occurring simultaneously in the office of the Pradhan and Up-Pradhan of a Gram Panchayat, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Panchayat Samiti or Zila Parishad, the Gram Panchayat or the Panchayat Samiti or the Zila Parishad shall elect an office bearer qualified to hold the office of Pradhan or Chairman, as the case may be, till new Pradhan or Chairman is elected in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder.(6)In the event of occurrence of casual vacancies in a Panchayat to the extent that the number of the remaining elected office bearers do not fulfill the quorum required for convening a meeting of the Panchayat then the State Government or the prescribed authority may nominate persons to fill the casual vacancies occurred in a Panchayat till new members are elected in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder:Provided that the State Government will nominate only that person to fill a particular casual vacancy who is eligible to be elected as an office bearer of a Panchayat and to hold office of that particular Panchayat in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
