Sarpanch Elected In Bye-Election Cannot Claim To Continue Tenure Till Completion Of 5 Yrs: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has said that a sarpanch elected in bye-election cannot claim to continue the tenure beyond the period of 5 years from the first meeting conducted.

The Court dismissed the plea filed by Sarpanch elected in bye-election from Punjab's Gram Panchayat Bhamme Kalan seeking quashing of notification whereby on completion of five years term.

Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma said, "any democratically elected Sarpanch or Panch to a Gram Panchayat, thus cannot claim that his/her term is to last longer, than the term of the Gram Panchayat concerned, nor can any Sarpanch or a Panch who becomes elected to a Gram Panchayat, can claim that beyond the period of 5 years since general elections, or bye-elections become conducted to the Gram Panchayat concerned, rather he or she is to continue, nor can claim that beyond five years from the first apposite meeting, thus he/she is to be permitted to serve as such."

Perusing Article 243E of the Constitution, the Court said that the term of every Panchayat, unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue for five years, from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer.

"The conclusion therefrom, is that, the term of every democratically elected Gram Panchayat, shall last upto a period of 5 years, unless dissolution thereof earlier takes place, through the valid invocation of any subsisting law," added the Court.

In the present case the petitioner who was claiming extension to continue till completion of 5 years was elected as Sarpach of Punjab's Gram Panchayat Bhamme Kalan in bye-election, whose first meeting was conducted on January 05, 2024.

Referring to Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, the division bench noted that in the instant case the vacancy arose not on account of death, resignation or removal of the Sarpanch or of the Panch, but arose on account of delays in the holding of elections.

Consequently, the Court held that, "the present petitioner who became elected as a Sarpanch in a bye-election, which was conducted in the year 2023, thus cannot claim that she is to be bestowed with a right to continue for a period of 5 years from the date of hers becoming elected as Sarpanch, or from the date of the apposite first meeting being held, as therebys the purposeful explicit declaration carried in sub Article 1 of Article 243E of the Constitution of India and also in Sections 14 and 15 of the Act of 1994, would become completely defeated."

In the light of the above, the plea was dismissed.

 Mr. Rajdeep Singh Gill, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Maninder Singh, Sr. DAG, Punjab.

Title: Jaswinder Kaur v. State of Punjab and others

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