Panaji: Bombay High Court at Goa has stayed the order of South Goa District Court which had stayed the disqualification of Netravali Sarpanch Rajani Gaonkar and her Deputy Abhijit Dessai.
The order was issued after Shiv Sena Goa Spokesman Rakhi Prabhudesai Naik had moved to the High Court claiming that the order of South District Judge was misintepretation of the Panchyat Raj Act.
South District Judge had set aside the order of Panchayat Director who had disqualified both the respondents owing to their alleged involvement in imposing illegal tax without taking panchayat body into confidence.
The single bench comprising Justice Nutan D Sardessai allowed the plea of Advocate Surendra Desai, representing the petitioner, for an order of stay staying the operation and execution of the South Goa District Judge order.
The plea of restraining the respondents from functioning as Sarpanch and Deputy Sarpanch of local panchayat was allowed by the court.
Naik in her petition had stated that the order of South Goa District court is misinterpreting and misconstruing the provisions of section 50 (4) of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 resulting in failure or miscarriage of justice not only to the petitioner in person or as vice president or spokesman of shiv sena but also to all voters and constituents of Gram Sabha of the villge panchayat of Netravali/Neturlim.
“The consequences of the impugned order are drastic. The respondent will bounce back to power and can also claim to be reinstated as Sarpanch and Deputy Sarpanch of the local panchayat who are persons guilty of or suspected of committing offences under those section 467, 468, 471, 472 and 420 read with 34 IPC,” the petition has said.
“The whole purpose of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act and the intention behind enacting it shall stand defeated if respondents are reinstated as Sarpanch and Deputy Sarpanch,” the petition reads.
“The respondents will be free and will dare commit further acts of misconduct or misuse or abuse of power in order to help their personal cause and make money out of public power vested in them,” Naik had said.
