No-trust motion: Mohali DC made Administrator of Zirakpur MC

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, July 16

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has appointed Mohali Deputy Commissioner as administrator to oversee the day-to-day operations of Zirakpur Municipal Council (MC), while prohibiting her from making any policy decisions. The directive by the Division Bench of Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Deepak Manchanda follows a contentious no-confidence motion against MC President Udayvir Singh Dhillon.

The High Court order

The Deputy Commissioner, SAS Nagar, Mohali, has been directed to act as Administrator to oversee and supervise the day-to-day working of the MC, Zirakpur. However, she shall not take any policy decisions.

In his petition against the State of Punjab and other respondents, Dhillon, through senior advocate DS Patwalia and Counsel BS Patwalia and ADS Jattana, contended that the petitioner was on April 15 elected as Zirakpur MC President.

He received a resolution signed by 21 out of the 31 members on June 28 for calling a meeting to pass a ‘no confidence motion’ against him, following which he wrote to Mohali Deputy Commissioner for adequate police force and the video recording of the meeting proceedings.

The petitioner and six other MC members decided against the ‘no confidence motion’ on July 5, after which it was specifically recorded that the ‘no confidence motion’ had failed. It was added that the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner had the power to pass appropriate orders suspending any MC resolution. The July 5 resolution was duly forwarded by the MC to the Additional Deputy Commissioner.

However, till date, no order suspending or setting aside the resolution has seen the light of day. As such, a fresh meeting for consideration of the ‘no confidence motion’ could not have taken place, and he had the right to continue as president.

The Bench noted that the counsel appearing for the MC did not dispute the recording of the resolution. However, he, along with the state counsel, submitted that the ‘no confidence motion’ was postponed due to a paucity of time to make adequate security arrangements, and it was passed against the petitioner in the meeting held on July 15.

The notice of motion issued by the Bench to the state and other respondents on the petition for July 22 was accepted by Punjab Additional Advocate-General Anurag Chopra and advocates JS Toor and Arshnoor Singh.

Before parting with the order, the Bench directed the preservation and sealing of the footage of the July 5 and July 15 meetings. The proceedings’ book containing the original record of resolutions was also directed to be sealed, along with the record sent by the authorities concerned on the basis of which the July 5 meeting was sought to be postponed.

“In the meantime, the Deputy Commissioner, SAS Nagar, Mohali, is directed to act as an Administrator to oversee and supervise the day-to-day working of the MC, Zirakpur. However, she shall not take any policy decisions,” the Bench concluded.