Babus are bosses over Sarpanches, especially in the case of women… SC scolds bureaucracy

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has made important comments on matters related to the work between Sarpanches and officials in villages. The apex court flagged the colonial mentality among bureaucrats. The court said that officials habitually try to dictate to elected representatives, especially women, in grassroots level democratic institutions. The top court said authorities should instead encourage women’s participation and leadership in governance.

Collusion of officials with Panchayat members

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjwal Bhuyan noted with concern that this is an oft-repeated pattern of treatment meted out to elected women representatives in Panchayats. In this, administrative officials collude with Panchayat members to take revenge against women sarpanches.

The bench ordered the reinstatement of Sonam Lakra, a woman sarpanch in a gram panchayat in Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh. Action was initiated against the woman sarpanch on minor grounds during the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government. At the same time, the BJP government led by Vishnu Dev Sai had defended him/her.

Praise for the work of the Sarpanch

The bench praised the development work done by 27-year-old Lakra. The bench said that the Chief Executive Officer of the Janpad Panchayat issued a work order dated December 16, 2022, despite lack of technical expertise regarding the time required for such projects. In this, orders were given to complete the development work within three months.

The order was given to Lakra on March 21, 2023, ironically the last day of the three-month period. A show cause notice was issued to him/her for delay in execution of work, which he/she rejected.

Removed due to bureaucratic arbitrariness

The bench said that despite his/her clarification, due to bureaucratic arbitrariness, he/she was removed from the post on January 18, 2024. his/her plea was rejected by the High Court. Justices Kant and Bhuyan found the allegations against him/her baseless and removed him/her from the post. Describing it as a hasty step, the bench said that the administrative authorities with their colonial mentality have once again failed to recognize the fundamental difference between an elected public representative and an elected public servant.

forces you to follow your orders

The bench said that often, elected representatives like Lakra are considered subordinate to bureaucrats. They are forced to follow instructions that encroach on their autonomy. Also affect their accountability. This false and self-proclaimed supervisory power is implemented with the intention of treating elected representatives at par with public servants holding civil positions, which completely disregards the democratic legitimacy conferred by elections.

Women’s initiatives should be supported

The Supreme Court said that when the country was trying to become an economic superpower, such incidents were happening regularly and were considered normal. The top court said administrative authorities should lead by example, make efforts to promote women empowerment and support women-led initiatives in rural and remote areas. Instead of adopting regressive attitudes that discourage women from holding elected positions, they should create an environment that encourages their participation and leadership in governance.