PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to expeditiously decide on an application seeking the disqualification of 11 elected members of the St Lawrence Village Panchayat in Agassaim, following allegations of financial misconduct.
The directive came in response to a writ petition filed by Hilarío Pereira, who accused the entire panchayat body of misappropriating monetary shares derived from public works executed under the village panchayat’s jurisdiction. Pereira had challenged a previous order of the SEC which had dismissed the disqualification plea and cleared the panchas of any wrongdoing. The High Court has now referred the matter back to the SEC, seeking an expeditious decision.
The petition mentioned financial details of the alleged misconduct, with the data obtained by Pereira through the Right to Information Act. He claimed the 11 panch members received monetary shares and interest from panchayat projects directly into their personal bank accounts. These funds, the petitioner stated, were from the village panchayat’s savings account.
“The respondents received the monetary share in their name for works undertaken by the village panchayat. They are elected members and already receive remuneration from the Government of Goa, along with additional payments for the Sarpanch and Deputy Sarpanch,” the petition stated.
He further pointed out that there was no formal record in the panchayat office of tenders being issued through due legal process for the works executed in the respective wards. However, details of the works undertaken were noted in the official muster roll.
The petitioner contended that the SEC had erred in concluding it lacked jurisdiction to decide on disqualification. The petitioner accused the Commission of violating provisions of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act and acting in bad faith while seeking to quash the order.
