Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court clarified that no village sarpanch on the behalf of Gram Panchayat can authorize to issue notices to demolish illegal constructions in the village. The power to do so is entrusted with the Panchayat secretary appointed under Section 42 of the Act.

A petition filed by a resident of Nanajipur village in Ranga Reddy district, Vanga Raghava Reddy stated that the Sarpanch of the village issued notices to demolish his compound wall, which he admitted was illegal. However, he urged the court to declare the action of the sarpanch as illegal for such issuing notices.

Mentioning that while the Gram Panchayat is the body corporate by the name of the village and the Sarpanch holds the power to pass resolutions as the official heading the Gram Panchayat, the petitioner’s counsel P Janardhan Reddy submitted the Panchayat Secretary is the one who holds the authority to implement the functions entrusted to the Gram Panchayat.

The counsel further stated that the sarpanch is not entrusted with the executive powers to deal with the affairs of the Gram Panchayat as he is a part of the political scenario, and hence, has restricted authority as specified under Section 32 of the Panchayat Raj Act.

Meanwhile, the Government attorney said that the Panchayats have power and according to the Panchayat Act, the Sarpanch can give notification.

Considering the submissions, the Court said, "According to Section 42 of the Commissioner's Panchayat Act, the Panchayat Secretary will be appointed by the High Court. The Secretary should take care of the security and maintenance of Panchayat Staff. The decision of the panchayat governor on the issue of assets should be implemented by the Secretary. In this case, the petitioner questioning the Sarpanch issuing direct notice is justified. The village sarpanch has no powers to issue demolition notices."

According to the Panchayat Act, the Panchayats will have power, and the Panchayat can not be given a Sapphach Notification, a government attorney said. According to Section 42 of the Commissioner's Panchayat Act, the Panchayat Secretary will be appointed by the High Court. The Secretary should take care of maintenance and maintenance of Panchayat Staff. The decision of the panchayat governor on the issue of assets should be implemented by the Secretary. In this case, the petitioner Sarpanch is directly challenged to give a notice. The sarpanch has no power to give notice, "the court said.

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