Politicians Appear To Have Diverted From Their Primary Responsibility To Ensure Public Administration Is Conducted Impartially: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently observed that politicians appear to have diverted from their primary responsibility to ensure public administration is conducted impartially and have forgotten that good politicians are supposed to make the commoners' life easy and comfortable.

With these observations, Justice SG Mehare of the Aurangabad Bench dismissed a writ petition filed by a doctor and other village residents challenging the election of Village Panchayat members who submitted affidavits of their election expenses with a slight delay due to health reasons.

“That shows the changing shape of Indian democracy. No one leaves a single stone unturned. The politicians take pride in showing each other down. The politicians appear to have diverted from their primary responsibility to ensure public administration is conducted impartially and neutrally. They also appear to have forgotten that the quality of a good politician is a vision and the power to implement that vision. They are supposed to take the state forward, make the commoner's life easy and comfortable, and educate people”, the court observed.

The court pointed out that the doctor, a candidate who did not get elected, diverted time and resources into litigation instead of social work.

“This case exemplifies a lack of sportsmanship and electoral spirit. Instead of spending time on the social work, a doctor by profession is spending time on the litigation. Even after the two competent authorities gave their verdict, he dragged the elected members of the Village Panchayat to the High Court…Not only this, but the parties to the petition tried to involve the government machinery to prove that they were and were not in a position to submit statements of election expenses within the time prescribed by the election commissioner”, the court said.

The Panchayat elections for village Manjarsumba, Dist. Ahmednagar, were declared on January 18, 2021. The elected members submitted their election expense accounts on February 17, 2021 which was the last date of submission. However, the accompanying affidavits, mandated to be submitted simultaneously, were sworn in on February 18, 2021, and tendered to the office on February 22, 2021. Notably, February 19, 2021 was Shivaji Jayanti, February 20, 2021 fell on a Saturday, and February 21, 2021 was a Sunday, resulting in the office being closed during this period except on February 18, 2021.

The complaint seeking disqualification of the elected members on grounds of delay filed by the petitioners, who are residents of the village, before the Collector as well as the appeal before the Additional Commissioner was dismissed. Thus, they filed the present petition.

The elected members explained that some of them were under medical treatment for Gastroenteritis from February 16 to February 18, 2021, while others were afflicted with COVID-19, and submitted positive antigen tests dated February 3, 2021. Due to the pandemic, they were quarantined at home for 14 days, and submitted their affidavits after the office reopened on February 22, 2021, they said.

The petitioners claimed that the delay was not sufficiently justified and alleged inconsistencies in medical records. Under the Right to Information Act, they obtained data from the hospital regarding treatment and the respondents' COVID-19 status, aiming to discredit their claims of illness-related delays.

The court cited Shaikh Nisar Ibrahim v. State of Maharashtra, in which it was observed that refusal to condone minor delays could lead to severe penalties, including disqualification from contesting elections for five years. The court emphasized that each case needs to be assesses individually to determine whether such harsh consequences are warranted. The court noted that in this case, the candidates would not benefit in any way by delaying the filing of their accounts of election expenses.

While the petitioners obtained records from doctors and hospitals, the respondents submitted positive COVID-19 test reports issued by ICMR. The court acknowledged the extraordinary circumstances caused by the pandemic, underscoring the prevalence of fear and disruption in daily life. The court found substance in the submission of the respondents that the COVID-19 test report issued by ICMR prevails over the documents produced by the petitioners.

The court said that the delay was essentially of only one day, as the other days were holidays and the affidavits were submitted as soon as the office reopened, and it could not be said to be deliberate. Finding the respondents' reasons plausible, the court concluded, “The candidates who were democratically elected could not be sent back for such a small delay, which was beyond their control.”

Advocate Rahul R Karpe represented the petitioners.

AGP AS Shinde represented the State.

Advocates DA Mane and PA Bharat represented the elected candidates.

Case no. – Writ Petition No. 8612 of 2022

Case Title – Dr. Ramnath Govind Kadam and Ors. v. Mangal Bhausaheb Kadam and Ors.

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