Chittatosh Mookerjee, J. - (1.) The petitioner was a Lower Division Clerk in the Pass Section of the office of the Chief Personnel Officer, South Eastern Railway, Garden Reach. In the year 1964 he was elected as a member of Maheshtala Anchal Panchayat and thereafter, he was elected as the Pradhan of the said Anchal. He is still the holder of the said office. When he was elected, government servants were not disqualified from becoming either members of Gram or Anchal Panchayats or Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha, Pradhan and Upapradhan. The West Bengal Panchayat and Zilla Parishads (Amendment) Act, 1965 came into force on December 11, 1965. The said Act amended the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1956 and the West Bengal Zilla Parishads Act, 1963 in the manner appearing in the said Act. The Section 2(2) was in the following terms:- "In sub-section (1) of Section 15 after Clause (a) the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:- (aa) he is not a citizen of India ; or (aaa) he is in the service of the Central or State Government or of the Zilla Parishad of the district or of an Anchalik Parishad, an Anchal Panchayat or a Gram Panchayat with in the district, or..."
(2.) On 10th June, 1965 the Director of Panchayat, West Bengal by his Memo No. 2997/DP/2E-62/75 notified the petitioner that it appeared that he was a Lower Division Clerk attached to the Pass Section of the Chief Personnel Officer, South Eastern Railway, Garden Reach and it was illegal and in contravention of Section 15(1) (aaa) of the West Bengal Panchayat Act for a member of a Anchal Panchayat to hold such a service. The petitioner was directed to show-cause by 25th June, 1975 why he should not be removed from his office of Pradhan as well as membership of Maheshtala Anchal Panchayat for contravention of Section 15(1) (aaa) of the West Bengal Panchayat Act. The petitioner has obtained the present Rule against the aforesaid proceeding for his removal from, the office of Pradhan and membership of Maheshtala Anchal Panchayat.
(3.) The impugned proceeding before the Director of Panchayat against the petitioner appears to have been started under Section 20(1) of the West Bengal Panchayats Act, 1957. The said sub-section (1) of Section 20, inter alia, provides that the prescribed authority may, after giving an opportunity to a member of a Gram Panchayat to show-cause against the action proposed to be taken against him remove him from office on the grounds specified in Clauses (a) to (g). Section 28 of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1957 prescribes that the provisions of Sections 17 to 24 would, mutatis mutandis, apply in cases of Anchal Panchayat, its Pradhan, Upa-Pradhan and its members, it may be pointed out that the provisions for removal of Adhyaksha and Upadhyaksha are contained in Section 18 which also apply, mutatis mutandis, to Pradhans and Upa-Pradhans. Holders of these offices may at any time be removed by a resolution of the Panchayat carried by votes not less than 2/3rd of the total number of members holding office for the time being at a meeting specially convened for the purpose provided when a resolution for removal is carried by less than 2/3rd majority of the members holding office for the time being in force, the prescribed authority may if it thinks fit by order remove the Adhyaksha, and Upadhyaksha, Pradhan and Upapradhan as the case may be. The Section 20 provides for removal of members of Gram and Anchal Panchayats. Therefore, the Director of Panchayat was not entitled to call upon the petitioner to show-cause why he should be removed from the office of Pradhan of the Anchal. But in case the petitioner is removed from the membership of the Anchal, ipso facto he would automatically forfeit his right to be the Pradhan. Therefore, we have to consider whether the Director of Panchayat had acted within its authority by calling upon the petitioner to show cause why action under Section 20 shall not be taken for removing him from membership of the aforesaid Anchal Panchayat.;