Rae Bareli: HC asks Chief Secy and DM to file affidavit on no-confidence motion against Panchayat Chief

The Allahabad High court has asked the Chief Secretary Anup Pandey and the District Magistrate of Rae Bareli to file an affidavit regarding the charges of willfully delaying the no-confidence motion against the Chairman, Zila Parishad within seven days failing which appropriate steps would be taken against them by the court.

The judgment was passed on Friday by the two-member bench of Justice Rajnish Kumar and Justice Pankaj Kumar Jaiswal on petition filed against the way Congress legislator Aditi Singh and other members of the District Panchayat were prevented from attending the no-confidence motion on May 14. The cavalcade of Aditi Singh was attacked in which her supporter received serious injuries and was referred to the Trauma Centre of KGMU in Lucknow while the MLA received injuries on her hands.

The Judges in their order said sternly that if the Chief Secretary and District Magistrate fail to file the affidavit then “they will take appropriate steps to secure their presence before this Court”.

A no-confidence motion was scheduled to be taken up under court’s order against Rae Bareli Zila Panchayat Chairman Avadhesh Singh, who is Dinesh Pratap Singh’s brother. Dinesh Pratap Singh is the BJP candidate who against Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

The court said in  its order “… no confidence motion was fixed on 14.05.2019 but due to influence of Avadhesh Singh, who is Chairman of Zila Panchayat Rae Bareli and brother of Dinesh Singh, a MLC of ruling party and Rakesh Singh, M.L.A. from Harchandpur constituency, no meeting could be convened for consideration of the aforesaid no confidence motion.”

The court further said:  “the respondent number 4 (Avadhesh Singh) managed to restrain the Members of the Zila Panchayat Rae Bareli to reach the Zila Panchayat Sabhagar, Rae-bareli to attend the meeting of no confidence motion and, therefore, the said meeting was adjourned in absence of coram.”

The court was told that criminal cases were also lodged against the Members of Zila Panchayat and many of them moved the court seeking protection from the administrative action.

“Considering the aforesaid, we direct the Chief Secretary of UP and District Magistrate, Rae Bareli to file a detailed affidavit in respect of the allegations made in the present writ petition within a period of seven days from today failing which we will take appropriate steps to secure their presence before this Court,” the judges said.