COURTESY HT JULY 16
DC’s order on MC chief removal set aside
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chandigarh:
The Punjab and Haryana high court has set aside the decision of the Fatehabad deputy commissioner authorising the subdivisional officer (civil) Tohana to convene a special meeting to consider the no-confidence motion against the president of municipal committee (MC) Jakhal Mandi.
“In the considered view of this court, the DC could not have on June 18, 2020 exercised powers under Section 21(2) of the Haryana Municipal Act (HMA) to authorise the SDO (Civil), Tohana to convene a special meeting to consider the no-confidence motion moved by some members for removal of the petitioner as president of the MC,” the HC has observed.
The division bench comprising Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Avneesh Jhingan has passed these orders while allowing a petition filed by Seema Rani.
Seema was elected president of the Municipal Committee, Jakhal Mandi in district Fatehabad, Haryana, at a meeting held on February 2, 2019 of the elected members of MC. The 13 members, including the petitioner, were declared elected from Ward 13 of Jakhal Mandi on December 19, 2018.
According to the petitioner, nine members of MC made a representation to the DC Fatehabad, under Rule 72-A (1) of the Haryana Municipal Election Rules, for bringing a no-confidence motion against her for her removal as the president of the MC.
On the basis of the representation, the DC Fatehabad, in purported exercise of powers conferred on him by Section 21(2) of Haryana Municipal Act (HMA) authorised the SDO (Civil) Tohana to convene a special meeting for considering the no-confidence motion. Thereafter, on June 25, the SDO (civil) issued a notice to convene the meeting. Aggrieved from this, the petitioner had approached the HC seeking quashing of these orders.
Her main contention was that the DC Fatehabad did not have the power to issue any order to consider any noconfidence motion for the removal of the president under the amended Section 21 of HMA.
It was argued that there was no statutory power vested in the DC as on June 18, 2020 to issue any such order