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Sonam Lakra vs. State of Chhattisgarh & Ors.

Not available · 2024 INSC 901Decided 14 Nov 2024
Not available
Justice Surya Kant · Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

Background

The appellant, a 27-year-old woman, was elected Sarpanch of Sajbahar Gram Panchayat in Jashpur district, Chhattisgarh, in 2020. She secured sanction for ten village development projects, but the Chief Executive Officer of the Janpad Panchayat issued a work order requiring completion within three months, yet that order was served on the Gram Panchayat only on the very last day of that three-month window. The resulting delay in construction was blamed on the appellant, leading to a show-cause notice, a chargesheet, and ultimately her removal from office in January 2024. Her appeals to higher authorities and to the High Court (which dismissed her writ petition citing the availability of an alternate remedy) were unsuccessful, prompting her appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court should not have dismissed the writ petition merely on the technical ground of an alternate remedy, especially where the Executive had blatantly misused its power to undermine grassroots democracy: Article 226 jurisdiction remains available in such cases despite alternate remedies. On the merits, it found that the delay was manufactured by the authorities' own conduct (issuing an impossible deadline and then delivering the order only after the deadline had passed) and could not fairly be attributed to the appellant. The Court quashed both the removal order and the High Court's order, restored the appellant to the office of Sarpanch for the remainder of her term, and directed the State to pay her Rs. 1,00,000 in costs for the harassment caused, with a further direction to inquire into the errant officials responsible.

Lesson Learnt

Elected local self-government representatives cannot be removed from office based on delays engineered by the administration's own procedural lapses, and courts will step in under writ jurisdiction to protect grassroots democracy even where a technical alternate remedy exists.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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