# Smt. Tripti Rani v. State of U.P. & Ors

- **Citation:** (2020) 9 ILRA 511
- **Court:** High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
- **Decided:** 2020-09-10
- **Case number:** WRIT - C No. 13665 of 2020
- **Bench:** Shashi Kant Gupta, Piyush Agrawal
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/allahabad-high-court/smt-tripti-rani-v-state-of-u-p-ors-45991
- **Pages:** 4

## Headnote

(A) Civil Law - Uttar Pradesh Kshetra
Panchayat & Zila Panchayat Act, 1961 -
Section 15 - motion of non-confidence -
Disaster Management Act -Democracy - system
of government in which a country's political
leaders are chosen by the people in regular,
free, and fair elections - people have a choice
between different candidates and parties who
want the power to govern - people are
sovereign - highest authority and government is
based on the will of the people - Elected
representatives at the national and local levels
must listen to the people and be responsive to
their needs - voters have right to elect their
representatives and also criticize and replace
them if they do not perform well. (Para - 11)

Petitioner is the Pramukh of the Kotwali Kshetra
Panchayat - assumed charge of Pramukh on
29.07.2019 - no confidence motion, as per
section 15 of the Uttar Pradesh Kshetra
Panchayat & Zila Panchayat Act, 1961 - District
Magistrate issued a notice dated 21.08.2020
convening a meeting for consideration of the
motion of no confidence on 15.09.2020. (Para1,2)

HELD:- Under no circumstance can the will of
the people be permitted to be frustrated. In a
democratic set up where right to govern
depends on the will of the people, the person
who has lost the majority cannot be permitted
to hold office. If a representative no longer
enjoys the confidence of the people, elected
representatives have a right to remove him and
he cannot be permitted to remain in power even
for a second and has to be immediately
replaced by a newly elected representative.
(Para - 12)

Petition dismissed. (E-7)

## Text

9 All. Smt. Tripti Rani Vs. State of U.P. & Ors.
511
(2020)09ILR A511
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
CIVIL SIDE
DATED: ALLAHABAD 10.09.2020

BEFORE

THE HON'BLE SHASHI KANT GUPTA, J.
THE HON'BLE PIYUSH AGRAWAL, J.

WRIT - C No. 13665 of 2020

Smt. Tripti Rani ...Petitioner
Versus
State of U.P. & Ors. ...Respondents

Counsel for the Petitioner:
Sri Atiqur Rahman Siddiqui, Sri Rakesh
Pande, Vishakha Pande

Counsel for the Respondents:
C.S.C., Sri D.C. Mathur

Counsel for the Caveator:
Sri Kharag Singh, Sri Brij Kumar Saroj

(A) Civil Law - Uttar Pradesh Kshetra
Panchayat & Zila Panchayat Act, 1961 -
Section 15 - motion of non-confidence -
Disaster Management Act -Democracy - system
of government in which a country's political
leaders are chosen by the people in regular,
free, and fair elections - people have a choice
between different candidates and parties who
want the power to govern - people are
sovereign - highest authority and government is
based on the will of the people - Elected
representatives at the national and local levels
must listen to the people and be responsive to
their needs - voters have right to elect their
representatives and also criticize and replace
them if they do not perform well. (Para - 11)

Petitioner is the Pramukh of the Kotwali Kshetra
Panchayat - assumed charge of Pramukh on
29.07.2019 - no confidence motion, as per
section 15 of the Uttar Pradesh Kshetra
Panchayat & Zila Panchayat Act, 1961 - District
Magistrate issued a notice dated 21.08.2020
convening a meeting for consideration of the
motion of no confidence on 15.09.2020. (Para1,2)

HELD:- Under no circumstance can the will of
the people be permitted to be frustrated. In a
democratic set up where right to govern
depends on the will of the people, the person
who has lost the majority cannot be permitted
to hold office. If a representative no longer
enjoys the confidence of the people, elected
representatives have a right to remove him and
he cannot be permitted to remain in power even
for a second and has to be immediately
replaced by a newly elected representative.
(Para - 12)

Petition dismissed. (E-7)

(Delivered by Hon'ble Shashi Kant Gupta, J.
& Hon'ble Piyush Agrawal, J.)

1. This writ petition has been filed,
inter alia, for the following reliefs;

i. Issue a writ, order or direction
in the nature of certiorari quashing the
impugned order/notice dated 21.08.2020
(Annexure No. 3 to the writ petition) passed
by Collector, Bijnor.

ii. Issue a writ, order or direction
in the nature of mandamus directing the
respondent no. 1 to initiate appropriate
against the District Magistrate/Collector,
Bijnor
for
violation
of
mandatory
instructions issued under the Disaster
Management Act, 2005.

2. The petitioner is the Pramukh of
the Kotwali Kshetra Panchayat, Bijnor. The
petitioner assumed the charge of Pramukh
on 29.07.2019. On 21.08.2020, a no
confidence motion, as per section 15 of the
Uttar Pradesh Kshetra Panchayat & Zila
Panchayat Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred
to as, 'the Act of 1961'), was made in
accordance with the procedure laid down
under the Act of 1961.
512 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES

3. In pursuance of the no confidence
motion, the District Magistrate, Bijnor
issued a notice dated 21.08.2020 convening
a meeting for consideration of the motion
of no confidence on 15.09.2020 at 11.00
a.m. at the Kotwali Kshetra Panchayat
Office. In view of the aforesaid notice of
the District Magistrate, Bijnor, a meeting
for consideration of no confidence motion
is to be held at 11.00 a.m. on 15.09.2020.

4. It is contended by the learned
counsel for the petitioner that since there
are about 185 Members in the Kotwali
Kshetra Panchayat, District - Bijnor, they
exceed the number of persons permitted
under the Guidelines for Phased Reopening (Unlock-4) issued by the Ministry
of Home Affairs, Government of India on
29.08.2020. It was further submitted that in
view of the aforesaid Guidelines, the
proposed meeting for consideration of no
confidence motion cannot be convened on
15.09.2020 since it would be in violation of
the provisions of the Disaster Management
Act.

5. Per contra, learned counsel for the
respondents submitted that convening the
meeting for the purposes of consideration
of no confidence motion cannot be said to
be a political function and in order to
buttress the submission, he has further
stated that sessions of Parliament have also
been convened during this period of the
pandemic. Similarly, amid the pandemic,
Rajasthan Assembly, having more than 200
Members,
was
also
convened
for
considering a no confidence motion. As
such, there is no legal impediment in
convening such a meeting.

6. Learned counsel has also brought
to the notice of this Court that number of
exams have also been held during the
period of COVID-19 where a large number
of students appeared in the examinations.
Thus, the contention of the learned counsel
for the respondents is that there is no
prohibition to hold such statutory meeting
for consideration of a no confidence
motion. It is further submitted that a
meeting can be held by adhering to the
safety
norms
as
stipulated
by
the
Government.

7. Heard Shri Rakesh Pandey, learned
Senior Counsel, assisted by Shri Atiqur
Rahman Siddiqui, learned counsel for the
petitioner; Shri D.C. Mathur, learned
counsel for the respondent nos. 4 & 5; Shri
Amit Manohar Sahay, learned standing
counsel for the State - respondents and Shri
Kharag Singh and Shri Brij Kumar Saroj,
learned counsel for the caveator - Jasram
Singh and perused the record.

8. It is true that the Central
Government has issued the Guidelines for
Phased Re-opening (Unlock-4) and in
clause 1(iii) thereof, it has been mentioned
that
social/
academic/
sports/
entertainment/ cultural/ religious/ political
functions and other congregations with a
ceiling of 100 persons will be permitted
with effect from 21st September, 2020,
with mandatory wearing of face masks,
social distancing, provision for thermal
scanning and hand wash or sanitizers.

9. During the COVID-19 pandemic,
everybody has to act with utmost caution so
that the spread of infection may be
curtailed as much as possible.

10. The Act of 1961 provides for local
self-governance where the people of Gaon
Sabhas have been given the right to manage
their own affairs and perform governmental
function through a democratic process,
9 All. Smt. Tripti Rani Vs. State of U.P. & Ors.
513
under which they have been given the right
to elect a Pradhan and remove him by
passing a motion of no confidence. Election
and removal by a motion of no-confidence
are two important aspects in democratic
set-up for which the Act of 1961 has made
ample provisions.

11. Democracy is a system of
government in which a country's political
leaders are chosen by the people in regular,
free, and fair elections. In a democracy,
people have a choice between different
candidates and parties who want the power
to govern. The people are sovereign. They
are the highest authority and government is
based on the will of the people. Elected
representatives at the national and local
levels must listen to the people and be
responsive to their needs. Thus, the voters
have right to elect their representatives and
also criticize and replace them if they do
not perform well.

12. In view of the above inherent
political
philosophy
and
principle,
the
provision for bringing a no confidence motion
for removing the representatives, has been
introduced in the present Act of 1961. The
Will of people is supreme. It cannot be lightly
interfered with. Under no circumstance can the
will of the people be permitted to be frustrated.
In a democratic set up where right to govern
depends on the will of the people, the person
who has lost the majority cannot be permitted
to hold office. If a representative no longer
enjoys the confidence of the people, elected
representatives have a right to remove him and
he cannot be permitted to remain in power
even for a second and has to be immediately
replaced by a newly elected representative.

13. Therefore, considering the facts &
circumstances of the case, we direct the
District Magistrate, Bijnor to ensure all the
protocols applicable for social and physical
distancing are adhered to. The sitting
arrangements be made in such a manner so
that it may adhere to the prescribed norms.
The District Magistrate, Bijnor may also
explore the possibility of seating the
Members of the Kotwali Kshetra Panchayat
in two or three separate rooms, a big hall or
in open space. The Authority concerned
may also explore the possibility of holding
a virtual session, with the help of modern
technological tools.

14. The District Magistrate or his
representative, who would be present on
the spot, will be the best person to
understand the ground reality for holding
the proposed no confidence motion in the
best possible manner, and we hope and
trust he would ensure that all the
protocols,
as
prescribed
under
the
guidelines and norms issued by the State
and
Central
Governments
and
the
observations made hereinabove, would be
followed.

15. At a time, when the State is
reeling from a monstrous pandemic, it is
imperative that detailed modalities for
holding statutory meetings of local bodies,
including
those
for
considering
''No
Confidence Motions', are put in place and
implemented. Accordingly, we direct the
State Government to consider framing
detailed
Guidelines
in
this
regard,
expeditiously, if possible, within a period
of three weeks from today. A copy of this
order be sent to the Chief Secretary for its
necessary compliance.

16. In view of the aforesaid
discussions, we do not see any justification
to interfere in the matter. The writ petition
lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed.
----------
514 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES
(2020)09ILR A514
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
CIVIL SIDE
DATED: ALLAHABAD 12.09.2019

BEFORE

THE HON'BLE BALA KRISHNA NARAYANA, J.
THE HON'BLE PRAKASH PADIA, J.

WRIT - C No. 17483 of 2017

Nripendra Kumar Dhusia ...Petitioner
Versus
Union of India & Ors. ...Respondents

Counsel for the Petitioner:
Sri Santosh Kumar Singh

Counsel for the Respondents:
A.S.G.I., Smt. Archana Singh, Sri Pramod
Kumar Pandey, Ms. Manjina Singh

Constitution of India - Article 226 -
Misleading, false & twisted facts in writ
petition - Effect - Not entitled for any relief -
under Article 226, over and above, a Court
of Law, High Court is also a Court of Equity -
Party must place all facts before the Court
without any reservation - If there is
suppression of material facts or twisted
facts are placed - Writ Court may refuse to
entertain petition and dismiss it without
entering into merits of the matter (Para 34)

Petitioner made false statement in writ petition
that he made registered complaint dated
30.03.2017 to respondent no. 3 - In fact no
such complaint/representation was made by the
petitioner till the filing of the writ petition -
Statutory representation submitted only on
27.4.2017 - Held - Since petitioner not
approached with clean hand hence not entitled
for any relief (Para 33)

Dismissed. (E-5)

Listed of Cases cited:-

1. Moody Vs Cox [(1917) 2 Ch 71 : (1916- 17)
All ER Rep 548 (CA)]
2. R v.Kensington Income Tax Commissioners
[(1917) 1 KB 486 : 86 LJ KB 257 : 116 LT 136]

3. Arunima Baruah Vs Union of India (2007) 6
SCC 120

4. Prestige Lights Ltd. Vs S.B.I. (2007) 8 SCC
449

5. Udyami Evam Khadi Gramodyog Welfare
Sanstha Vs St. of U.P. (2008) 1 SCC 560

6. Dalip Singh Vs St. of U.P. & ors. (2010) 2 SCC
114

7. Amar Singh Vs Union of India & ors. (2011) 7
SCC 69

8. Kishore Samrite Vs St. of U.P. & ors. (2013) 2
SCC 398

(Delivered by Hon'ble Prakash Padia, J.)

1. Personal affidavit of the petitioner
filed today in the Court is taken on record.

2. Heard learned counsel for the
petitioner.

3. The office of learned Additional
Solicitor General of India has accepted
notice on behalf of the respondent no.1.
Ms. Manjina Singh, learned counsel,
holding brief of Smt. Archana Singh
appears for the respondents no.2 and 3.

4. Notice need not to be issued to
respondent no. 4 in view of the order which
is proposed to be passed today.

5. The petitioner has preferred the
present writ petition with the following
prayers :-

"I. Issue a writ, order or direction
in the nature of Mandamus commanding
and directing the respondent no.3 not give