wp5110.11.odt 1/2 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR. WRIT PETN. NO.5110/2011 Sau. Narmadabai P. Wadekar, Member -vs- Addl. Collector, Akola and others ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Office notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders Court's or Judge's Orders. or directions and Registrar's orders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shri P.C.Madkholkar, counsel for the petitioner. Shri M. Pathan, AGP for the respondent Nos.1 and 2. Shri C.A.Joshi, counsel for the respondent No.4. CORAM : SMT. VASANTI A. NAIK, J. DATE : 12.10.2011. By this petition, the petitioner impugns the orders passed by the Additional Collector and the Additional Commissioner on 16/05/2011 and 22/09/2011 respectively holding that the petitioner was disabled from continuing as a member of the gram panchayat in view of the provisions of Section 14 (1) (g) of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958. It is not in dispute that the petitioner was elected as a member of the gram panchayat in August, 2010 and was then elected as a sarpanch. It is also not in dispute that the husband of the petitioner had entered into a contract with the gram panchayat and the contract was in existence from 30/03/2010 to 31/03/2011. Under the provisions of Section 14 (1) (g) of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, a person shall not be a member of the panchayat or continue as such if he has directly or indirectly, by himself or his partner, wp5110.11.odt 2/2 any share or interest in any work done by order of the panchayat, or in any contract with, the panchayat. Since the husband of the petitioner had entered into a contract with the gram panchayat and the contract was in force at the time of election of the petitioner and also subsequently when the respondent No.4 filed the petition before the Additional Collector seeking disqualification of the petitioner under Section 16 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, the authorities rightly held that the petitioner had incurred disqualification under Section 14 (1) (g) of the Act and was not entitled to continue as the member of the gram panchayat. The submission made on behalf of the petitioner that the word “himself” in Section 14 (1) (g) of the Act would not mean “herself” and hence in this case the provisions would not apply is liable to be rejected as on a reading of Section 14 (1) (g) of the Act and on consideration of the facts of the case, it is clear that the petitioner indeed had at least an indirect interest in the work done by her husband through the contract which was entered between her husband and the gram panchayat. The orders passed by the Authorities are just and proper and call for no interference in exercise of the writ jurisdiction. In the result, the writ petition fails and is dismissed with no order as to costs. JUDGE KHUNTE