x

Like our Facebook Page

   
Early Times Newspaper Jammu, Leading Newspaper Jammu
 
Breaking News :   DDC Poonch reviews performance of Banks | Awareness programme, health camp organised | Gram Sabha meeting convened on Day 5 of DAJGUA campaign | DM Samba lifts temporary ban on holding Dangal competitions | Arrangements for historic mela at Devsthan Jadsarkote discussed | Kishtwar gets its first Indoor Shooting Range | Public participation essential for effective Govt planning: Speaker | Doda Police’s Cyber Unit Traces 43 Missing Smartphones | Jammu Police cracks Gas Cylinder Theft Case | Historic Gori Mitti Mela Concluded Amid folk Dances , Songs & Fanfare | Vishwa Yog Sansthaan organizes Yoga Day at Hari Ki Pauri | Andrabi participates in Annual Urs of Peer Baba Budhan Ali Shah | Omar boards Vande Bharat Express, shares pictures | PDP trying to rope in annoyed Cong leaders of Valley | Shekhawat visits Pahalgam terror attack Site | PM Modi to visit Bihar, Odisha, Andhra | IndiGo flight returns | 4 RR steps up patrolling | 4 RR steps up patrolling | Power shut down | Gorakhpur Link Expressway set to become the seventh operational expressway | PM Modi Dispels Trump’s Narrative | Shahdara Sharif: A Spiritual heaven and Paradise in Jammu and Kashmir | Survive Library | Refugees: The Faces Behind the Numbers | The Power of Good Habits: Transforming Your Life from Within | Ward No. 58 seeks overhaul of Civic Infrastructure | Cadets from across the nation arrive in Srinagar | Kathua gears up for International Yoga Day | KVK Reasi trains Rural Youths under ARYA Project | Balwant Thakur meets Union Culture and Tourism Minister | SIRF, donated a Maruti Suzuki Eeco Ambulance to the Tiger Division | PCC greets Rahul Gandhi on birthday | Notoriouis drug peddler nabbed | JSSJ creates history by redefining ability and breaking barriers | Bharatiya Bhasha summer camp concludes | "Nukkad Natak" organized | SMVDU Earns Spot in Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 | Online faculty development programme organized | GDC Neeli Nallah launches awareness campaign | GDC Ramnagar organises symposium on Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan | GDC Sunderbani organizes Inter-Collegiate Poster Making Competition | Fire Safety awareness and mock drill organises at GDC Ganderbal | GDC Sidhra celebrates Int'l Yoga Day | Back Issues  
 
news details
Removal of women elected representative can’t be treated lightly: SC
10/6/2024 11:00:28 PM
New Delhi, Oct 6:
Agencies

Removal of an elected public representative should not be treated lightly, especially when it concerns women belonging to rural areas, the Supreme Court has said as it set aside an order for removal of a woman sarpanch in a Maharashtra village.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan termed the matter as a classic case where the residents of the village could not reconcile with the fact that a woman was elected to the office of the sarpanch.
The top court observed that it was a case where villagers were unable to come to terms with the reality that a female sarpanch would make decisions on their behalf and that they would have to abide by her directions.
“This scenario gets further exacerbated when we as a country are attempting to realise the progressive goal of gender parity and women empowerment across all spheres, including public offices and most importantly adequate women representative in elected bodies, such instances at the grass-root level cast a heavy shadow on any headway that we may have achieved,” the bench observed in its September 27 order.
Underscoring that it must be acknowledged that these women, who succeed in occupying such public offices, do so only after significant struggle, the bench said, “All that we would like to reiterate is that the matter of removal of an elected public representative should not be treated so lightly, especially when it concerns women belonging to rural areas”.
The bench was dealing with a plea of Manish Ravindra Panpatil, an elected sarpanch of gram panchayat, Vichkheda situated in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. She was ordered to be removed from her post after a complaint by fellow villagers that she was allegedly residing with her mother-in-law in a house constructed on government land.
The allegation was denied by Panpatil, who claimed she does not reside in that particular dwelling, and that she lives separately with her husband and children in a rented accommodation.
However, without appropriately verifying these facts and on the basis of “bald statements”, the Collector concerned passed an order disqualifying her from continuing as sarpanch.
“This order was thereafter confirmed by the divisional commissioner. Subsequently, the high
The Supreme Court has said as it set aside an order for removal of a woman sarpanch in a Maharashtra village.
The residents of the village could not reconcile with the fact that a woman was elected to the office of the sarpanch.
It was a case where villagers were unable to come to terms with the reality that a female sarpanch would make decisions on their behalf.
The matter of removal of an elected public representative should not be treated so lightly, especially when it concerns women belonging to rural areas.
court vide the impugned order, dismissed the appellant’s writ petition against the commissioner’s order on a technical ground, thus putting a seal of approval on her removal from office,” the bench noted.
The bench noted that the villagers grasped at straws in their bid to evict Panpatil from her position and their cause was perhaps aided by the mechanical and summary orders passed by government authorities at various levels.
“These orders were passed in a lackadaisical manner, without making any effort towards conducting a fact-finding exercise, so as to confirm whether the allegations levied by the private respondents were sufficiently made out. There is nothing on record to suggest that any objection of the appellant’s family having encroached upon government land was ever raised when she filed her nomination papers,” the bench said.
While noting that the vagaries of the present factual matrix is far from unique and is unfortunately somewhat of a norm, the bench said there is no doubt that the private respondents (villagers) may have operated in a discriminatory manner.
It said what is more worrying is the casual approach adopted by government authorities in summarily removing an elected representative.
“This is all the more concerning when the representative in question is a woman and elected in the reservation quota, thereby indicating a systemic pattern of prejudicial treatment, permeating through all levels of administrative functioning,” it said.
The top court said having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case at hand, it sees no credible and convincing material on record to substantiate the allegations of encroachment of government land by Panpatil before or post her election as sarpanch.
“In this vein, the authorities concerned need to sensitise themselves and work towards creating a more congenial atmosphere where women, such as the appellant, can prove their worth by rendering their services as sarpanch of the gram panchayat,” said the bench, adding that her removal from the office of sarpanch, is highly disproportionate.
It set aside the Bombay High Court order of August 3, 2023 and allowed Panpatil to continue and perform the duties of sarpanch of the gram panchayat till the completion of her tenure.
  Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network  
  Comment on this Story  
 
 
 
Early Times Android App
STOCK UPDATE
  
BSE Sensex
NSE Nifty
 
CRICKET UPDATE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Home About Us Top Stories Local News National News Sports News Opinion Editorial ET Cetra Advertise with Us ET E-paper
 
 
J&K RELATED WEBSITES
J&K Govt. Official website
Jammu Kashmir Tourism
JKTDC
Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board
Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board
Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board
UTILITY
Train Enquiry
IRCTC
Matavaishnodevi
BSNL
Jammu Kashmir Bank
State Bank of India
PUBLIC INTEREST
Passport Department
Income Tax Department
JK CAMPA
JK GAD
IT Education
Web Site Design Services
EDUCATION
Jammu University
Jammu University Results
JKBOSE
Kashmir University
IGNOU Jammu Center
SMVDU