SC reinstates woman sarpanch, imposes Rs 1 lakh cost on Chhattisgarh govt for harassment
New Delhi, Nov 14: Coming down heavily on the Chhattisgarh government for removing an elected woman sarpanch of a remote village for "unjustified reasons," the Supreme Court on Monday observed the state wanted the village head to go with a "begging bowl before a babu (bureaucrat)".
A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the state government to be released in four weeks to Sonam Lakra, the woman sarpanch of a village in Jashpur district, for the mental harassment she suffered.
"This is a case of high-handedness on the part of the authorities in removing an elected sarpanch, a young woman who thought of serving her village in a remote area of Chhattisgarh.
"Instead of admiring her commitments or cooperating with her or extending a helping hand in her endeavour for the development of her village, she was wronged for absolutely uncalled for and unjustified reasons," the bench said.
The top court termed the initiation of proceedings as a "lame excuse" for removing her from the post of sarpanch over a delay in the supply of construction materials and completion of construction work.
"Construction works involve engineers, contractors and timely supply of material besides vagaries of weather and therefore, how can a sarpanch be held responsible for the delay in construction works, unless it is found that there was a delay in allocation of work or performance of a specific duty assigned to her."
"We are satisfied that initiation of proceedings was a lame excuse and the appellant was removed from the office of Sarpanch on the false pretext," the top court said in its order.
While quashing the removal order passed by the sub-divisional officer (revenue), the bench reinstated her to the post of sarpanch till the completion of her term.
"Since the appellant has been harassed and subjected to avoidable litigation, we award the cost of Rs 1 lakh to her which shall be paid within four weeks by the state of Chhattisgarh," the bench said.
It said the state is at liberty to collect the amount from the officers responsible for causing her harassment.
The top court also directed the chief secretary of the state to hold an inquiry and find out the officers/officials responsible for the harassment of the elected representative.
During the hearing of the matter, the top court warned the counsel for the state government for repetitive disruptions saying, "Don't force us to say something harsh."
The counsel submitted that the sarpanch had a remedy available to her and she could appeal against the order of removal before the collector.
"That is what you want. You (state) want a sarpanch to go with a begging bowl before the babu... who in some cases may have been promoted from the post of clerk," the bench observed.
It said the sub-divisional officer (revenue), who passed the arbitrary removal order, seemingly lacked the technical knowledge about how much time construction work takes.
On April 5, the top court, while issuing notice on the plea of Lakra challenging the February 29 order of the high court dismissing her petition against the removal order, directed for a stay on the direction removing her from the post of Sarpanch.
"Meanwhile, the operation of the impugned orders passed by the sub-divisional officer (revenue), Pharsabahar, district Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, removing the petitioner from the post of sarpanch, gram panchayat Sajbahar, as well as that of the high court, shall remain stayed.
"Resultantly, the petitioner shall be reinstated as the sarpanch of the gram panchayat and shall be allowed to perform her duties without any hindrance," the bench had ordered.
Lakra was elected as sarpanch of Sajbahar Panchayat in Jashpur district of the state in January 2020. Some complaints were received with regard to irregularity in the completion of the construction work.
On May 26, 2023, the sub-divisional officer (revenue) registered the case and issued a show-cause notice to her.
Lakra (27) filed a reply stating that the work was sanctioned vide order dated December 16, 2022, under the Rural Industrial Park (RIPA), but she received it from the secretary of the gram panchayat on March 21, 2023.
Therefore, it was not possible to complete the work in such a short span of time, she had said.
It was stated that during the pendency of the enquiry, the work was completed and the oral intimation was given to the authority concerned. However, on January 18, she was removed from the office of sarpanch on the charge that she could not complete the work.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
