Paramjeet Singh, J. - (1.) INSTANT writ petition has been filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing of impugned order dated 31.12.2013 (Annexure P/9) whereby resolution regarding 'no confidence motion' against Ramesh Kumar, Chairman, Block Samiti -respondent no. 5 has been stated to have failed due to non compliance of provisions of Section 62 of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act"), according to which 2/3rd majority of the total elected members is the minimum requirement.
(2.) SECTION 62 of the Act reads as under: - 62. Term of office of Chairman and Vice -Chairman -(1) The term of the office of the Chairman and Vice -Chairman of a Panchayat Samiti shall be five years: Provided that the Chairman or Vice -Chairman shall cease to be the Chairman or Vice -Chairman if by a resolution passed by not less than two -thirds of the total number of its elected members, the Panchayat Samiti decides at a meeting convened in the manner prescribed that he shall vacate his office: Provided further that no such meeting shall be convened before the expiry of one year from the date on which the election of the Chairman or Vice -Chairman as the case may be, was notified and, after the expiry of such period, whenever such a meeting is convened during his term of office and the proposal for vacating the office fails, no further meeting shall at any time thereafter be convened for considering a similar proposal against the Chairman or Vice -Chairman unless a period of at least one year intervenes between the last failure and the date on which such further meeting is convened. (2) An outgoing Chairman or Vice -Chairman shall be eligible for fresh election if otherwise qualified. Admittedly, total members of the Block Samiti were 20 and only 11 members were present. So, the resolution could not have been passed due to non -fulfillment of coram as required under Section 62 of the Act.
(3.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioners states that there is some criminal case registered against the Chairman, but no action is being taken by the authorities which is required to be taken under Section 64 of the Act. Section 64 of the Act reads as under: - 64. Suspension of Chairman/Vice -Chairman and a Member -(1) The Government may suspend from office any Chairman or Vice -Chairman or Member against whom any criminal proceeding in respect of an offence involving moral turpitude have been instituted in any court, or who has been detained in a prison during trial for any offence or who is undergoing such sentence of imprisonment as would disqualify him for continuing as a Member of the Panchayat Samiti under Section 175 or who has been detained under any law relating to preventive detention for the time being in force. (2) Where any Chairman or Vice -Chairman, as the case may be, has been suspended under sub -section (1) another Member shall be elected by and from amongst the elected members to perform all the duties and exercise all the powers of a Chairman or a Vice -Chairman during the period for which such suspension continues.;