High Court junks order to remove Jalalabad MC president

Saurabh Malik

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Chandigarh, March 13

Less than a year after the elected president of the Jalalabad Municipal Council was removed, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today set aside the impugned action. Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj also declared the impugned notification issued on May 30, 2023, “unsustainable in the eyes of law”.

“The respondent-state has time and again made efforts to remove the petitioner from his democratically elected post on the basis of conjunctures and surmises,” Justice Bhardwaj asserted, while allowing the petition filed by Vikas Deep through senior counsel Gaurav Chopra.

Justice Bhardwaj asserted the court “on weighing the facts and circumstances of the case” found that the evidence produced during the inquiry was not sufficient to prove the allegations against the petitioner-president.

Justice Bhardwaj’s Bench, during the course of hearing, was told that a complaint was filed against the petitioner by Jalalabad MLA Jagdeep Kamboj alias Goldy to the Chief Minister. It was alleged in the complaint that respectable persons of the constituency brought to his notice bungling in the council development works as basic facilities had not been provided to the public.

The petitioner submitted his replies to a show-cause notice issued to him. But he was removed from the post by the respondent-state vide notification dated February 17, 2023. Acting on his initial plea, a Division Bench of the high court set aside the notification and remanded the case to the competent authority with certain directions to decide the matter afresh. The state after hearing the petitioner again issued the impugned notification, whereby he was again removed from the post.

Justice Bhardwaj asserted a perusal of the proceedings showed that the notification under challenge was issued without application of mind and without taking care of the directions issued by the Division Bench.

Referring to the provisions of law, Justice Bhardwaj asserted it was apparent that the legislature in the best of its wisdom had laid down that the examiner of the local fund accounts or other audit authority was empowered to assess the loss, waste or misapplication of money. But such procedure was not adopted to substantiate the allegations against the petitioner.

“As per law settled, it is evident that the evidence collected should link the delinquent with the charges he has been prosecuted with,” Justice Bhardwaj asserted.

Evidence not sufficient to prove charges

The court on weighing the facts and circumstances of the case found that the evidence produced during the inquiry was not sufficient to prove the allegations against the petitioner-president. — Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj