- (1.) By consent of the parties, the appeal is taken up for hearing by treating the same as on day's list along with the application for stay. Let the affidavit of service filed in Court today be taken on record. The appeal arises out of an order dated 8th August, 2016, passed by the learned Single Judge. Perusing the said order, it appears that the learned Single Judge refused to interfere with the order passed by the Pradhan of the concerned Gram Panchayat. The Pradhan's order which appears to have been signed on 17th June, 2016 was not exactly a suo motu order in exercise of his powers under the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973, but was an order passed pursuant to an earlier order of the writ Court in a previous writ proceeding initiated by the private respondent herein. The said writ petition, being WP 10469 (W) of 2015, was disposed of by an order dated 25th April, 2016. Even a bare perusal of the pleadings reveals that a private dispute purely civil in nature has been brought into surface by the private respondent herein, not only in the earlier writ proceeding, but also in the proceedings before the Pradhan of the concerned Gram Panchayat, which gave rise to filing of the writ petition by the appellants herein that was ultimately dismissed.
(2.) The writ Court is not the proper forum to adjudicate upon private disputes between two or more parties. Such disputes are required to be adjudicated upon by a competent civil Court. That apart and in any event, the dispute which gave rise to the cause of action was essentially a boundary wall dispute existing between the appellants on one hand and the private respondent on the other.
(3.) In the facts of the instant case, section 23 of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973 was sought to be invoked by the Pradhan of the concerned Gram Panchayat pursuant to the order dated 25th April, 2016, passed in the earlier writ proceeding. The scheme of section 23 of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973, primarily deals with erection of any new structure or building or making any addition to any structure or building in any area within the jurisdiction of a Gram Panchayat. Control of such building operations is within the domain of the concerned Gram Panchayat and no construction can take place except with the previous permission in writing of the concerned Gram Panchayat. Erection of new structure or new building or addition to any structure or building or permission of the concerned Gram Panchayat, however, is subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government in this behalf. In this regard, it is noticed that the West Bengal Panchayat (Gram Panchayat Administration) Rules, 2004 provides, inter alia, rules regarding control of building operations under Chapter IV of the said rules. Rule 19 of the West Bengal Panchayat (Gram Panchayat Administration) Rules, 2004, reads as follows: "19. Exemption from permission. (1) No permission of the Gram Panchayat shall be necessary for erection of any thatched structure, tin shed, or tile shed, without brick wall, covering an area not exceeding eighteen square metres, and such structure or shed does not cover more than three-fourth of the total area of the land including the land appurtenant thereto. Provided that no permission of the Gram Panchayat shall be required for construction of houses under poverty alleviation programme. (2) Permission of the Gram Panchayat shall not be necessary for repair of an existing structure or building unless (i) any structural change is involved, or (ii) such repair brings any change in the existing covered area, or (iii) such repair includes any addition of a projection from the existing structure or building ground level or upper level. (3) Permission of a Gram Panchayat shall not be necessary for erection of a boundary wall unless it is made of brick or cement and the bounded area is not kept as vacant land but it is used or likely to be used as stack yard or for any commercial or institutional purpose either on open space or by erecting temporary shed.";