“Bureaucrats Can’t Be Allowed To Frustrate Grassroot Democracy”: Supreme Court

Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court has upheld a Bombay High Court order reinstating a woman as the sarpanch of a Maharashtra village, emphasizing that bureaucrats should not be allowed to undermine grassroots democracy.

Court’s Observation On Bureaucratic Interference

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh noted an increasing trend of bureaucratic misconduct towards elected Panchayat representatives, particularly in Maharashtra.

“We have given judgments in two-three cases where babus were found to be misbehaving with the elected representatives. These bureaucrats cannot be allowed to frustrate grassroots democracy,” the court stated.

The bench also highlighted cases where bureaucrats attempted to disqualify elected representatives by reopening old issues. “They try to open old cases like your grandfather has encroached upon government land and hence you are disqualified,” Justice Surya Kant remarked.

Reinstatement Of Kalavati Rajendra Kokale

The court upheld the Bombay High Court’s decision to reinstate Kalavati Rajendra Kokale as the sarpanch of Ainghar village, Taluka-Roha, Raigad district, and rejected the election of Archana Sachin Bhosale to the post. The high court had quashed the June 7, 2024, order of the Raigad district collector declaring the sarpanch’s post vacant and appointing a returning officer for a fresh election.

“We are inclined to agree with the view taken by the high court… we uphold and affirm the continuation of respondent number 1 (Kokale) as the duly elected pradhan of the Gram Panchayat,” the Supreme Court ruled in its March 7 order.

High Court’s Reasoning

Kokale had resigned from her post under Section 29 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act but later withdrew her resignation. The high court ruled that since she had withdrawn her resignation during a March 15, 2024, meeting, it “did not take effect.”

“The collector has erroneously arrived at a conclusion that the post of the sarpanch had fallen vacant without appreciating the position that resignation was already withdrawn,” the high court observed, calling the collector’s order “illegal” and “liable to be set aside.”

Consequently, Bhosale’s election was deemed “ab initio void.” The court clarified that since Kokale never officially vacated the post, there was no legal basis for Bhosale’s election.

Background

Kokale was elected as sarpanch in February 2021 for a seat reserved for backward-class women. Despite informing the relevant authorities of her withdrawal, the Raigad district collector on June 7, 2024, stated that her resignation had been accepted and that Bhosale had been elected on June 13, 2024.

The court reiterated its stance on protecting elected representatives, particularly women in rural areas. On September 27, 2023, in another Maharashtra case, the court had emphasized that removing an elected public representative should not be taken lightly.

This ruling reinforces the judiciary’s commitment to upholding democratic principles at the grassroots level and preventing bureaucratic overreach in local governance.