Pawan Kumar Agrawal S/o Ratan Kumar Agrawal v. State of Bihar through the Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar, Patna
2022-04-28
ANJANI KUMAR SHARAN, ASHUTOSH KUMAR
body2022
DigiLaw.ai
JUDGMENT : ASHUTOSH KUMAR, J. Both the appeals have been heard together and are being disposed off by this common order. 2. Heard Mr. Mukesh Kumar Jha, the learned Advocate for the appellant in L.P.A. No. 70 of 2020 and Mr. Jitendra Kumar Giri, the learned Advocate for the appellant in L.P.A. No. 103 of 2020 and Mr. S.B.K. Mangalam, the learned counsel for the respondents in both the appeals. Mr. Nityanand Mishra, the learned Advocate has also appeared in both the appeals on behalf of respondent No. 5. 3. Pursuant to the special meeting of “No Confidence” on 13.08.2019, the appellants were elected as Chief and Deputy Chief Councillors respectively of the NagarPachayatin question. 4. The private respondents, who actually were duly elected as Chief and Deputy Chief Councillors, viz., Sumitra Devi & Md. Safrul @ Md. Sakrul, had challenged the aforesaid convening of the special meeting as also the election of the appellants to the posts of Chief and Deputy Chief Councillors vide C.W.J.C. No. 16606 of 2019 and C.W.J.C. No. 16555 of 2019 respectively. 5. Both the writ petitions were heard and disposed off by a common order, which is under challenge in both the appeals. 6. A requisition by fifteen Ward Councillors of the concerned Nagar Panchayat, out of total of eighteen Members, had submitted to the private respondent No. 22 in L.P.A. No. 70 of 2020 asking her to convene a special meeting for staging a “No Confidence Motion” against her as Chief and the Deputy Chief Councillors (private respondent No. 22 in L.P.A. No. 103 of 2020) with a copy to the District Magistrate; Sub-Divisional Officer and Executive Officer, Kishanganj. 7. When no meeting was held, twelve of the Councillors wrote directly to the Executive Officer on 24.07.2019, requesting him to convene a special meeting for consideration of “No Confidence Motion” against the Chief and the Deputy Chief Councillors. A request was also made for fixing a date of 02.08.2019 for such meeting. 8. However, the Executive Officer, under his letter dated 02.08.2019, fixed the date of 13.08.2019 for the meeting. 9. On that date, meeting was held and no confidence motion was passed whereafter the appellants were elected as the Chief and Deputy Chief Councillors respectively. 10. The learned Single Judge, relying upon the judgment in Meena Yadav Vs.
8. However, the Executive Officer, under his letter dated 02.08.2019, fixed the date of 13.08.2019 for the meeting. 9. On that date, meeting was held and no confidence motion was passed whereafter the appellants were elected as the Chief and Deputy Chief Councillors respectively. 10. The learned Single Judge, relying upon the judgment in Meena Yadav Vs. The State of Bihar: 2010(2) PLJR 389 , held that the Executive Officer could not have fixed a date of his own but under the Rules, he was required to fix the meeting on the date so requested by the requisitionists. Apart from this, the learned Single Judge found that the notice did not disclose the reasons for staging any confidence motion. 11. During the course of arguments before the learned Single Judge, facts were brought to the fore indicating that the appellant in L.P.A. No. 70 of 2020 did not even have the requisite qualification of being elected as a Ward Member. For the breach of the Rules in convening the meeting for discussing “No Confidence Motion”, the proceedings were quashed and the election of the appellants as the Chief and the Deputy Chief Councillors were set-aside. 12. The concerned respondents were restored to their respective position. 13. We do not find any reason to interfere with the order passed by the learned Single Judge. 14. Apart from this, we also take notice of the fact that the term of the Councillors is almost over. 15. Thus, the appeals have lost their force otherwise as well. 16. For the reasons afore-stated, both the appeals are dismissed. 17. I.A., if any, in both the appeals are also disposed off.