Madras High Court
N.Veeraswamy … vs The District Collector on 27 November, 2023
Author: P.D. Audikesavalu
Bench: P.D. Audikesavalu
W.P. No. 29320 of 2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 27.11.2023
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE P.D. AUDIKESAVALU
W.P. No. 29320 of 2023
and
W.M.P. Nos. 28949 and 28958 of 2023
N.Veeraswamy … Petitioner
-vs-
1. The District Collector,
Chengalpet.
2. The Block Development Officer,
Thiruporur.
3. V.Lokeshwari Vijayakumar
4. Saravanan
[R3 and R4 are impleaded in the order dated
27.11.2023 in W.M.P. No. 33516 of 2023
passed by this Court.]
... Respondents
Prayer:- Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India,
1950, praying to issue a Writ of Certiorari, calling for the records relating to the
impugned order of the First Respondent dated 31.08.2023 in Na.Ka.No.
277/2023/A5 ue(u) and quash the same.
For Petitioner : Ms. AL.Ganthimathi
Senior Counsel
for Mr. L.Palanimuthu
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
1/14
W.P. No. 29320 of 2023
For Respondents : Mr. U.Baranidharan,
Additional Government Pleader (for R1)
Mr. T.M.Rajangam
Government Advocate (for R2)
Mr. G.Mohan (for R3 & R4)
ORDER
Heard Ms. AL.Ganthimathi, Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Petitioner, Mr. U.Baranidharan, Additional Government Pleader appearing for the First Respondent, Mr. T.M.Rajangam, Learned Government Advocate appearing for the Second Respondent and Mr. G.Mohan, Learned Counsel appearing for the Third and Fourth Respondents and perused the materials placed on record, apart from the pleadings of the parties.
2. The Petitioner and the Third Respondent have been elected as President and Vice-President respectively of Mambakkam Panchayat in Thiruporur Taluk of Chengalpattu District and as per Section 188(3) of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' for short), they are joint signatories to sign cheques of the funds in its bank account. According to the First Respondent, taking note of the situation that there was difference of https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 2/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 opinion between the Petitioner, the Third Respondent and other Ward Members of the Panchayat relating to various issues concerning that Panchayat, it had become necessary to invoke the emergency powers under Section 203 of the Act, which reads as follows:-
“203. Emergency powers of Collector and Inspector.- Subject to such control as may be prescribed, the Inspector or the Collector may, in cases of emergency, direct or provide for the execution of any work, or the doing of any act which a Panchayat or Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary is empowered to execute or do and the immediate execution or doing of which is in his opinion necessary for the safety of the public and may direct that the expense of executing such work or doing such act shall be paid by the person having the custody of the Village Panchayat Fund or the Panchayat Union (General) Fund or the District Panchayat (General) Fund in priority to any other charges against such Fund except charges for the service of authorised loans.” In the exercise of the said powers, the First Respondent by Proceedings in Na.Ka.No. 277/2023/A5 ue(u) dated 31.08.2023 had nominated the Second https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 3/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 Respondent and the Zonal Deputy Block Development Officer to jointly sign the cheques of the funds in the bank account of the Panchayat in the place of the Petitioner and the Third Respondent respectively, which is assailed in this Writ Petition.
3. At this juncture, reference must also be made to Section 188(3) of the Act, which reads as follows:-
“188. Village Panchayat Fund.....[3] Subject to such general control as the Village Panchayat may exercise from time to time, all cheques for payment from Village Panchayat Fund shall be signed jointly by the President and as the case may be, by the Vice-President or the President and another member authorised by the Village Panchayat at a meeting in this behalf.” It would be evident from the said legal provision that in the absence of the President or the Vice-President, one of the members of the ward, who has been authorised by the Village Panchayat, would be conferred with the power to sign the cheques. The Government of Tamil Nadu has also issued G.O. Ms. No. 92, Rural Development (C.III) Department dated 26.09.1997 in which it has been stated as follows:-
“All the accounts should be jointly operated by the President and https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 4/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 the Vice President. In exceptional cases, when there is adversarial relationship between the President and the Vice- President, the panchayat, may, by a resolution authorize any other member other than the Vice President to jointly operate the account along with the President. Provided that prior approval of the Inspector of Panchayats (District Collector) will be obtained for this.” The Division Bench of this Court in Pugazhendran -vs- B.G.Balu [(2005) 1 CTC 545] after referring to the relevant statutory provisions, has determined the question as to where if the Vice-President (or President, as the case may be) has adversarial relationship with the President (or Vice President) of the Panchayat, and if for ulterior motive he refuses to sign the cheque, can this be treated as his ‘absence’? In other words, whether the provision in G.O. Ms. No. 92 dated 26.3.1997, which states that in exceptional cases where there is adversarial relationship between the President and the Vice-President, the panchayat, may, by a resolution authorize any other member other than the Vice president (or President, as the case may be) to jointly operate the account along with the President (or Vice-President), is inconsistent with Section 188(3) of the Act?
The Division Bench of this Court has held therein as follows:-
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 5/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 “25. In our opinion, we can give a wider meaning to the word ‘absence” than mere ‘physical absence”. One word can have several meanings, just as several words can have one meaning (synonyms). It all depends on the context in which it has been used. For example, the word ‘desertion’ appearing in Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act implies not only factum of separation, but also “animus deserendi”, vide Lachman v. Meena, AIR 1964 SC 40. There can be constructive desertion. The husband and wife may be living together under the same roof, but the husband may have legally deserted her (wife) by his conduct. Similarly the word ‘absence’ is a word of wide connotation, and is not necessarily limited to ‘physical absence’. The indifferent or obstructionist attitude of a person or avoidance can, in our opinion, amount to absence in some situations.
26. In our opinion, if the Vice-President (or President, as the case may be) by his conduct makes it impossible for the village panchayat to function (either by neglecting his duties or by causing regular obstruction in the administration or otherwise) https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 6/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 he may be said to be ‘absent’. Such interpretation of the word ‘absence’ in Section 188(3) would be taking a practical view otherwise the Vice-President (or President, as the case may be) if he has adversarial relationship with the Vice-President (or President as the case may be) can make it very difficult for the Village panchayat to function by his simple act of refusing to sign cheques. Funds are often required for various purposes and if the President or Vice-President refuses to sign cheques for ulterior motives, as is the allegation in the counter affidavit in this case, the functioning of the village panchayat may become impossible. We are not expressing any opinion as to whether in this case, the Vice-President has refused to sign for some ulterior motives, but we are certainly of the opinion that Section 188(3) of the Act, as well as G.O. Ms. No. 92 dated 26.03.1997 can be read harmoniously in the manner mentioned above. We do not agree with the learned single Judge that if the Vice-
President (or President, as the case may be) refuses to sign it can never be a case of ‘absence’ within the meaning of the word in Section 188(3) of the Act, and the only recourse which can be https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 7/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 taken to is under Section 206. It may be noted that Section 206(2) of the Act states that before removing the Vice-President the procedure mentioned in sub-sections (2) to (13) of Section 205 has to be complied with, and that procedure is a cumbersome, time consuming one. Surely for signing every cheque it would be impracticable to resort to that procedure. If the conclusion of the learned single Judge that for refusal to sign cheques action could be taken under Section 206(3) of the Act for removal of the Vice President (or President, as the case may be) the time bound programmes like Village Panchayat, ear- marked grant account like Sampoorna Grama Yojgas Yojana Scheme (Food for work), Village Panchayat Scheme Fund Account, etc. will lapse if the funds are not utilized within the time stipulated, since the procedure mentioned in sub-sections (2) to (13) of Section 205 is very elaborate and cumbersome.
27. We would however point out that before granting prior approval it would be the duty of the Inspector of Panchayats (District Collector) to give a hearing to the Vice-President or https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 8/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 (President, as the case may be) (which need not be a personal hearing as already mentioned above), and apply his mind and decide by a written order giving reasons as to whether in his opinion, the Vice-President (or President, as the case may be) is refusing to sign the cheque for ulterior motive, or for genuine reasons in the interest of the village panchayat. It will be the duty of the Inspector of Panchayats, to decide this matter objectively and impartially without being influenced by any extraneous pressures or considerations. If the refusal to sign the cheque is for good and genuine reasons in the interest of the Village Panchayat, the Inspector should refuse approval, but if it is for extraneous considerations or is mala fide he should grant it.”
4. Having regard to the aforesaid dictum, which governs the controversy involved, when there is no consensus between the President, the Vice-President and other Members of the Panchayat in its meeting for spending from the funds of the Panchayat, it would follow that any such payment made would be unauthorized and if the President or the Vice-President, as the case may be, was https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 9/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 a signatory to such cheque, they may be liable to be removed from office following the prescribed procedure under Section 205 or 206 of the Act which mandates affording opportunity of hearing to them in consonance with the principles of natural justice. However, there cannot be normally deprived of their right to exercise the powers of the President or Vice-President, as the case may be, till the prescribed procedure for their removal has been duly carried out. In that event, the proper course of action in the interregnum would be to ensure that the drawal of cheques by them from the funds of the Panchayat in its bank accounts has been duly authorized by taking the requisite measure of informing the concerned bank that payments should not be effected through cheques from the bank accounts of the Panchayat without supporting resolution from the majority of the members of the Panchayat at its meeting. It must be highlighted here that it is only when the reasons stated by the President or the Vice- President of the Panchayat, as the case may be, for not signing the cheque is found untenable that the Inspector is empowered to authorize a member of the Panchayat to sign that particular cheque in the place of the President or Vice- President of that Panchayat, as the case may be, who has refused to sign the particular cheque. Moreover, it is only when no member of the Panchayat has been authorized to sign in that regard, such powers could be conferred on the Block Development Officer or the Zonal Deputy Block Development Officer, as https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 10/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 the case may be. At the same time, it must be noticed that the emergency powers of the Inspector under Section 203 of the Act could be exercised only when it is immediately necessary for execution of any work relating to the Panchayat or for the safety of the public. In other words, it is only when there is total non-cooperation from the entire members of the Panchayat to perform any immediate work or to meet an expenditure that cannot brook any delay that the Inspector could authorize persons other than the members of that Panchayat to draw funds from its bank account to meet that specific expenditure.
5. In the present case, it has been demonstrated before this Court from the materials placed on record that the Petitioner has been high-handedly making payments from the funds of the Panchayat in its bank accounts without the approval of the Vice-President and other Ward Members of the Panchayat in its meetings and the procedure for removal of the Petitioner from the post of President of the Panchayat has been initiated by the First Respondent, which is now pending. In that backdrop, the impugned order in Na.Ka.No. 277/2023/A5 ue(u) dated 31.08.2023 has been passed by the First Respondent temporarily restraining the Petitioner and the Third Respondent from operating the bank accounts of the Panchayat, and the Second Respondent and Zonal Deputy Block Development Officer have been authorized to jointly sign the cheques of https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 11/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 the funds of the Panchayat in its bank accounts for the limited purpose of meeting the payment of salaries and essential expenditure alone of the Panchayat, which bonafide action cannot be faulted. That apart, it has been brought to notice that the Panchayat at its meeting convened on 14.11.2023, in furtherance to the order dated 11.10.2023 passed by this Court in this Writ Petition, has refused to ratify the earlier payments made by the Petitioner from the funds of the Panchayat in its bank accounts. In such circumstances, there does not appear to be any infirmity in the impugned order warranting interference by this Court in the exercise of the discretionary powers of judicial review of decision-making process under Article 226 of the Constitution. It is hastened to clarify here that in respect of making payments from the funds of the Panchayat in its bank accounts for any other expenditure, the approval of the Panchayat by the majority of its members at its meeting is mandatory and the prescribed procedure in Section 188(3) of the Act in the manner explained supra would have to be followed in that regard.
In the upshot, the Writ Petition is dismissed with the aforesaid observations. Consequently, the connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed. No costs.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 12/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 27.11.2023 Index: Yes/No NCC: Yes/No Note: Issue order copy by 08.04.2024.
Maya To
1. The District Collector, Chengalpet.
2. The Block Development Officer, Thiruporur.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 13/14 W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 P.D. AUDIKESAVALU, J.
Maya W.P. No. 29320 of 2023 27.11.2023 2/2 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 14/14