LexRAM PAL SINGH versus STATE OF U.P. & ORS.
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A B C D E F G H 971 RAM PAL SINGH v. STATE OF U.P. & ORS. (Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) No. 31990 of 2017) APRIL 24, 2018 [MADAN B. LOKUR AND DEEPAK GUPTA, JJ.] Uttar Pradesh Kshettra Panchayats and Zila Panchayats Adhiniyam, 1961: ss. 6(1)(b) and 15 r/w r. 3(3) of Uttar Pradesh Kshettra Panchayats and Zila Panchayats (Oath of Office of Adhyaksha or Pramukh Etc.) Rules, 1994 – No confidence motion against ‘Pramukh’ of Kshetra Panchayat – Moved by 39 elected members – Plea of the ‘Pramukh’ (petitioner) that the requisition for no confidence motion was not maintainable in view of s. 15 because the same can be considered to have been signed only by 26 elected members (i.e. less than half the total number i.e. 63 elected members) as 13 elected members who had not taken oath of office could not have signed or moved the motion – Held: Per Madan Lokur, J: There is nothing in law to indicate that elected member ceases to be a member if he/she does not take oath – That apart, if 13 members cannot be considered as elected members, they also cannot be considered or counted for the purpose of composition or counting total strength of Kshettra Panchayat – If number of signatories drop by 13, the total member of the elected members would also drop by 13 – Thus no-confidence motion was a numerically valid requisition – In the facts of the case it is held that all the 63 members had taken oath of office before moving the motion – Thus 13 members were elected members and were entitled to sign the motion – Per Deepak Gupta, J: Members who have not taken oath cannot move and be a signatory to such a no-confidence motion – If they are not entitled to vote at such motion (having not taken oath) cannot be held entitled or eligible to sign such motion – However, the question whether certain members had taken oath or not is disputed, and since the petitioner has failed to prove that such members had not taken oath, the petition is liable to be dismissed. [2018] 3 S.C.R. 971 971 A B C D E F G H 972 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2018] 3 S.C.R. Oath: Oath of office – By persons holding public office – Sanctity of – Held: Oath cannot be rendered meaningless – Legislature is advised to provide consequences for not subscribing to such oath – In order to avoid controversy as to whether oath was taken or not, advice to maintain record of the same. Dismissing the petition, the Court HELD: Per Madan B. Lokur, J.: 1.1 It is not correct on the part of the petitioner to contend that for the purposes of signing the No Confidence Motion, the 13 elected members are not elected members but for the purposes of the composition of the Kshettra Panchayat they are elected members thereby maintaining the strength of the Kshettra Panchayat at 63. If they are not elected members for the purposes of signing the No Confidence Motion, then the number of signatories to the No Confidence Motion would drop from 39 to 26. Correspondingly, the number of elected members of the Kshettra Panchayat would also get reduced from 63 to 50. Consequently, it would have to be concluded that since 26 out of 50 elected members of the Kshettra Panchayat have signed the No Confidence Motion, more than 50% of the elected members. If the 13 elected members are not elected members for one purpose, they cannot have a different status for another purpose. Their status must remain the same as that of an elected member (or not an elected member) both at the time of signing the No Confidence Motion and for the composition of the Kshettra Panchayat. [Paras 21, 22][982-B-E] 1.2 In the facts of the case, all 63 elected members of the Kshettra Panchayat took the oath of office on 18th March, 2018 and no communication was sent on 28th March, 2018 to or received by any of the 17 elected members of the Kshettra Panchayat who were alleged not to have taken oath of office on 18th March, 2018. Consequently, the No Confidence Motion against the petitioner was a numerically valid requisition having been signed by more than 50% of the elected members of the Kshettra Panchayat. [Para 25][983-C] A B C D E F G H 973 1.3 There is nothing in the law to indicate that an elected member ceases to be a member of the Kshettra Panchayat if he or she does not take the oath of office. Though it is strange and illogical that the 13 elected members could sign the No Confidence Motion even though they had not taken the oath of office but they could not actually vote in the Panchayat because they were not enti
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