Trial Court Cannot Waive Notice Period For Filing Suit Against Authorities Under Zilla Parishads & Panchayat Samitis Act: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that trial courts have no jurisdiction to dispense with the statutory notice requirement under Section 280 of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act and Section 180 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, unlike Section 80(2) of the Civil Procedure Code, which provides a limited discretion. It held that non-compliance with these mandatory provisions renders the suit non-maintainable.Justice Shailesh P. Brahme was hearing a civil revision application filed by the Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and Grampanchayat authorities challenging the trial court's rejection of their application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC in a suit filed by a shop licensee seeking declaration and injunction against eviction. The plaintiff had been issued an eviction notice on 15.07.2024, and he filed the suit on 30.07.2024, just nine days later.The respondent submitted that the applicants resorted to eviction arbitrarily and highhandedly without providing an opportunity for a hearing. He submitted that the notice dated 24.07.2024 is a sufficient compliance with Section 80.The High Court observed that while the plaintiff had issued a notice dated 24.07.2024, there was no compliance with the mandatory three-month notice period under Section 280 of the Zilla Parishads Act and Section 180 of the Village Panchayats Act. It further held that, unlike Section 80(2) of the CPC, these provisions do not contain any mechanism for waiver. “The provisions of Section 280 of the Zilla Parishads Act and Section 180 of the Village Panchayats Act are not analogous to Section 80 of CPC. Under the Zilla Parishads Act or Village Panchayats Act, there are no provisions for waiver of the notice period,” the Court observed.The Court noted that the plaint did not contain any pleading regarding urgency or any application seeking waiver of the notice period before the application for rejection of the plaint was decided. It found that the application seeking a waiver was filed after the rejection of the plaint. The Court emphasised that there is no discretion with the trial court to dispense with the notice period:“Unlike Section 80(2) of CPC, there is no discretion with the trial Court to dispense with the period of notice, while entertaining a challenge to the action of authorities under the Zilla Parishads Act or Village Panchayats Act. In other words, the trial Court has no jurisdiction to entertain a suit by dispensing with the notice period.”Accordingly, the High Court allowed the revision application and quashed the trial court's order.Case Title: Zilla Parishad, Ahmednagar & Ors. v. Sandip Madhav Khase & Ors. [Civil Revision Application No. 186 of 2024]Click Here To Read/Download Order

Trial Court Cannot Waive Notice Period For Filing Suit Against Authorities Under Zilla Parishads & Panchayat Samitis Act: Bombay High Court

Saksham Vaishya

Tags