PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Thursday directed the South Goa Additional Director of Panchayats to dispose disqualification petition against a panchayat member of Sancoale Village Panchayat and not to grant lengthy adjournments.
Disposing of a writ petition filed by Narayan D Naik, the Division Bench comprising Justices Mahesh Sonak and Valmiki SA Menezes, said, “The Director/Additional Director of Panchayats must dispose of disqualification petitions or petitions seeking the removal of elected panchas with utmost dispatch. Granting liberal and lengthy adjournments is completely unacceptable, and delaying such petitions is improper. There is no point in a sword of Damocles hanging over an elected representative, and at the same time, if an elected representative deserves to be disqualified or removed, then it is not in the public interest that he/she continues due to the delay in the disposal of proceedings against him/her.”
The petitioner had prayed for expeditious disposal of panchayat petition pending since May 19, 2023, before the South Goa Additional Director of Panchayats-II, Margao. He had prayed for removal of Girish Pillai as a panchayat member of Sancoale Village Panchayat.
After going through the Rozanama, the Court observed that on June 13, 2023, the Additional Director of Panchayats adjourned the matter by 30 days to July 13, 2023, On July 13, the matter was adjourned by 59 days to September 12 and on September 12, the was adjourned to almost 83 days to November 30.
On November 30, 2023, the Additional Director of Panchayats adjourned the matter by almost 133 days to May 12, 2024 by recording that “Matter adjourned as PO (presiding officer) is busy with preparation of report with respect to High Court matter pertaining to North Goa District which is transferred by the Director of Panchayat.”
“The petitions of this nature cannot be frustrated by anyone merely by delaying adjudication. The respondents should have at least filed their reply by 30.11.2023. In any case, the Additional Director of Panchayats was not at all justified in being so liberal with the adjournments and adjourning the matters after 59, 83 and 113 days,” the Court said.
Adv Abhijit Gosavi and Athnain Naik represented the petitioner.
