CWP No.540 of 2010 1 IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. Civil Writ Petition No. 540 of 2010 Date of decision: 14.01.2010 Kulwant Singh Panch ...Petitioner Versus Director Rural Development & Panchayat Punjab, Chandigarh and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJAN GUPTA Present: Mr. S.S. Khaira, Advocate, for the petitioner. Rajan Gupta, J. (oral) This is a petition seeking writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the order dated 13th August, 2009, Annexure P-1, passed by Director, Rural Development and Panchayat, Punjab, vide which the petitioner has been suspended from the post of Panch in exercise of powers under Section 20 (4) of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994; as also order dated 26th October, 2009, Annexure P-2, passed by the revisional authority i.e. Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Department, Punjab. The grievance of the petitioner is that certain allegations were levelled against him by some villagers due to factionalism in the village. Pursuant to a complaint made against him, a show cause notice was issued to him. An inquiry ensued. The inquiry officer came to a conclusion that the petitioner was in illegal possession of certain land (Khasra Nos.55, 56, 57 & 58 CWP No.540 of 2010 2 place/land of Gair Mumkin Nala). Consequently, vide order dated 13th August, 2009, Annexure P-1, the petitioner was placed under suspension. The petitioner preferred appeal against this order before the Financial Commissioner. The Financial Commissioner (respondent No.2) came to the conclusion that petitioner was in fact in illegal possession of the above mentioned Panchayat land and thus dismissed the appeal vide order dated 26.10.2009. Feeling aggrieved, the petitioner has preferred the instant writ petition. Learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in this case due to factionalism in the village, that there is nothing on record to show that the petitioner is in illegal possession of the Panchayat land and thus the impugned order deserves to be quashed. I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner and given careful thought to the facts of the case. A perusal of the order passed by the Financial Commissioner shows that he referred to the Jamabandi for the year 2003-04 which showed that the Gram Panchayat was owner of the land bearing Khasra Nos. 55, 56, 57 & 58, place of Gair Mumkin Nala. In order to find out whether petitioner was in illegal possession of this land, demarcation was got conducted through the Naib Tehsildar, Majithia. The Naib Tehsildar found that the appellant was in illegal possession of the aforesaid khasra numbers. On the basis of inquiry report, received from the District Development & Panchayat Officer, CWP No.540 of 2010 3 notice was issued to the petitioner by Director, Rural Development and Panchayat Department. However, the petitioner failed to appear before the said officer. After considering the inquiry report, the Director Panchayat placed the petitioner under suspension vide order dated 13th August, 2009 (Annexure P-1). The order was upheld by the Financial Commissioner vide its order dated 26.10.2009 (Annexure P-2). A direction was given that the regular inquiry pending against the petitioner be completed within three months. Learned counsel for the petitioner has not been able to show any legal infirmity with the impugned order. Only factual contentions have been raised, to adjudicate upon which is beyond the scope of writ jurisdiction of this court. Even otherwise, the order was passed by the Financial Commissioner on 26th October, 2009, wherein three months time was given to the Inquiry Officer to complete the regular inquiry. The said period is yet to expire and report of the regular inquiry is still awaited. Under the circumstances, there is no ground to interfere in the impugned orders passed by the authorities below. The petition is devoid of merit and is hereby dismissed. (RAJAN GUPTA) JUDGE January 14, 2010 'rajpal'