R.S. Narula, J. - (1.) THE only question which calls for decision in this writ petition is whether "Deputy Commissioner" in Section 102 of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 4 of 1953, as amended by Punjab Act 11 of 1964 includes "Additional Deputy Commissioner" wherever such an officer is posted.
(2.) SARWAN Singh, Sarpanch and Sunder Singh and Shrimati Bhagirathi, Panches of the Gram Panchayat of village Naraingarh, tehsil and district Patiala, were ordered by Shri L.D. Kataria, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, on 30th September, 1965 to be suspended and were purported to be debarred from taking part in any act and proceedings of the Gram Panchayat with effect from that day on the allegation that certain acts enumerated in the order said to have been performed by the Petitioners were mala fide and had caused a lot of loss to the Panchayat and by performing those acts the Petitioners were alleged to have misused their official position. The Additional Deputy Commissioner by his said order (copy annexure 'A' to the writ petition) held that an inquiry had been conducted through the District Development and Panchayat Officer, Patiala, which had revealed that certain irregularities had been committed by the Petitioners in connection with an auction. The impugned order of the Additional Deputy Commissioner, dated 30th of September, 1965, referred to above purports to have been passed under Section 102 of the Act. The said section reads as follows: - - 102(1) The Deputy Commissioner may,' during the course of an enquiry, suspend a Panch for any of the reasons for which he can be removed, and debar him from taking part in any act or proceedings of the said body during that period and order him to hand over the records, money or any property of the said body to the person authorised in this behalf. (2) Government may, after such enquiry as it may deem fit, remove any Panch - - (a) on any of the grounds mentioned in Sub -section (5) of Section 6; (b) who refuses to act, or becomes incapable of acting, or is adjudged an insolvent, (c) who, without reasonable cause, absents himself for more than two consecutive months from the meetings of the Gram Panchayat, or Adalti Panchayat, as the case may be; (d) who, in the opinion of Government or of the officer to whom Government has delegated its powers of removal, has been guilty of misconduct in the discharge of his duties; (e) whose continuance in office is, in the opinion of Government or of the officer to whom Government has delegated its powers of removal, undesirable in the interests of the public; (Explanation. - -The expression 'misconduct' in Clause (d) includes the failure of the Sarpanch without sufficient cause - - (i) to submit the judicial file of a case within two weeks of the receipt of the order of any Court to do so; (ii) to supply a copy of the order of the Gram Panchayat in an administrative or judicial case decided by it, within two weeks from the receipt of a valid application therefor. (3) A person who is removed under Sub -section (2) may be disqualified for re -election for such period not exceeding five years as Government may fix. Mr. Anand Mohan Suri, the learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioners, has urged that the powers vested by Section 102 of the Act for suspending a Panch for any of the reasons for which he is liable to removal and for debarring a Panch from taking part in any act or proceedings of the Gram Panchayat is vested in the Deputy Commissioner of the District as a persona designata and that those powers are not exercisable by any person other than the Deputy Commissioner even though such other person may also be authorised to exercise some or most of the functions of the Deputy Commissioner in the same district and may be designated as "Additional Deputy Commissioner." In order to decide this point the scheme of the Act has first to be seen. A Panch or a Sarpanch is elected by a cumbersome procedure prescribed under the Act. Panch is not a nominee of the Government and is not there on account of favour of any authority but is the duly elected representative of the electorate which he represents. The Legislature has vested far -reaching and drastic powers to suspend a Panch in the course of an inquiry only if it relates to a charge on which the Panch is ultimately liable to be removed under Sub -section (2) of Section 102 of the Act. The power of removal has been vested in the State Government which ranks as No. 1 in the hierarchy of officers under the Act. The various authorities under the Act are (i) the State Government, (ii) the Director of Panchayats and (iii) the District Magistrate or the Deputy Commissioner. Some powers under the Act are exercisable by the District Judge and by a Subordinate Judge of the 1st Class. The power vested in the Deputy Commissioner under Section 102 of the Act to suspend a Panch before even an inquiry is held on which it is decided to remove him is indeed a very drastic power.
(3.) SECTION 95 of the Act provides for delegation of powers by various authorities named in the Act. It provides for delegation by the Government, by the Director of Panchayats, by the District Magistrate, by the District Judge, by the Collector and even by the Deputy Commissioner or the Sub -Divisional Officer. Sub -section (6) of Section 95 gives the Deputy Commissioner authority to delegate any of his powers of control to an officer not below the rank of an Extra Assistant Commissioner or to a District Panchayat Officer. Originally, i.e., before April 22, 1964, Section 102(1) of the Act authorised the Director of Panchayats to suspend a Panch. By Section 6 of the Punjab Gram Panchayat (Amendment) Act, 1964, which received the assent of the Governor on April 22, 1964 (hereinafter referred to as the amending Act) the word "Deputy Commissioner" was substituted for the word "Director" in Section 102(1) of the principal Act. By Section 4(2) of the Amending Act, a proviso has been added to Sub -section (6) of Section 95 referred to above. As a result of the addition made by Section 4(2) of the Amending Act relevant part of Section 95(6) of the Principal Act as amended reads as follows: - - (6) The Deputy Commissioner ....... may delegate any of his powers of control to an officer not below the rank of an Extra Assistant Commissioner or to a District Panchayat Officer. Provided that the power specified in Section 102 shall not be delegated by the Deputy Commissioner.;