Uttarakhand high court issues notice on plea seeking removal of Halalpur gram pradhan over age eligibility

DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand high court issued an order on a public interest litigation seeking the removal of the gram pradhan of village Halalpur in Bajpur development block of Udham Singh Nagar district on the grounds of being below the prescribed minimum age for the post.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay, while hearing the matter, clarified that the state govt was legally empowered to remove elected representatives who did not fulfil the prescribed qualifications.Petitioner Ankit Rana sought the removal of the gram pradhan through a writ of quo warranto. The petition alleged that at the time of the election, the gram pradhan in question was below 21 years of age, which was a mandatory qualification under the Panchayati Raj Act. The petitioner’s counsel argued that upon being found disqualified under Section 138(1) of the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016, the elected representative should be removed from the post.During the hearing, the court disposed of the matter instead of keeping it pending. The court granted the petitioner the liberty to present his case before the state govt. The High Court directed the state govt that if such a representation was submitted by the petitioner, the govt shall, after giving the concerned gram pradhan a due opportunity to present their side, take a prompt decision in accordance with the law.