Allahabad High Court
State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. ... vs Manoj Kumar Singh on 2 August, 2019
Bench: Pankaj Kumar Jaiswal, Jaspreet Singh
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH Court No. - 1 Case :- SPECIAL APPEAL DEFECTIVE No. - 323 of 2019 Appellant :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy.,Deptt.Of Panchayat Raj & Ors Respondent :- Manoj Kumar Singh Counsel for Appellant :- C.S.C. Counsel for Respondent :- Pradeep Kumar Singh Hon'ble Pankaj Kumar Jaiswal,J.
Hon'ble Jaspreet Singh,J.
1. Heard Sri Mohit Jauhari, learned counsel for the appellants and Sri H.G.S. Parihar, learned Senior Advocate, assisted by Smt. Meenakshi Parihar, learned counsel for the writ petitioner/respondent.
2. This special appeal filed by the appellants State is barred by 110 days.
3. On due consideration, as cause assigned in the affidavit filed in support of application for condonation of delay in filing this appeal (C.M. Application No. 88794 of 2019) is satisfactory, C.M. Application No. 88794 of 2019 is allowed. Delay in filing this special appeal is condoned.
4. This special appeal has been filed by the State against the judgment and order dated 13.3.2019 passed in Misc. Single No. 22544 of 2017 : Manoj Kumar Singh Vs. State of U.P. and others, by which the learned Writ Court, while allowing the writ petition, quashed the order dated 13.9.2017 by holding that the administrative and financial powers of the Gram Pradhan, which is an office of election, cannot remain suspended indefinitely in the manner it has been done. On placing reliance on the decision of the Full Bench in Viveka Nand Yadav Vs. State of U.P. and another : 2011 (29) LCD 221, the learned Writ Court has observed that Rule 8 of the U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947 requires the Inquiry Officer to complete the inquiry after furnishing charge-sheet to the Gram Pradhan within six months and submit the same to the State Government/District Magistrate and in the present case, the same has not been completed nor charge-sheet was issued.
5. Considering the aforesaid so also the law laid down by the Full Bench in Viveka Nand Yadav (Supra), we are of the view that the learned Writ Court has rightly quashed the order impugned in the writ petition because no inquiry was completed within six months nor any charge-sheet was issued in terms of Rule 8 of the U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947.
6. With the aforesaid, the special appeal is devoid of merit and is, accordingly, dismissed.
(Jaspreet Singh, J.) (Pankaj Kumar Jaiswal, J.) Order Date :- 2.8.2019 Ajit/-