Lalita Devi v. The State Of Bihar And ORS

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

Letters Patent Appeal No.542 of 2018 In Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.2058 of 2017 ====================================================== Lalita Devi W/o Sri Jawahar Baitha, R/o Village- Mahipur Bhataura, P.S.- Bagaha, District- West Champaran at Bettiah.

... ... Appellant/s

Versus

1. The State of Bihar.

2. The Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, Bihar, Patna.

3. The District Magistrate, West Champaran at Bettiah.

4. The Deputy Development Commissioner, West Champaran at Bettiah.

5. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Bagaha, District- West Champaran at Bettiah.

6. The Block Development Officer, Bagaha-1, District- West Champaran at Bettiah.

... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Appellant/s :

Mr. Raghunandan Kumar Singh, Advocate For the Respondent/s :

Mr. Pushkar Narayan Sahi - AAG-6 ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD ORAL JUDGMENT (Per: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE) Date : 19-04-2018 Delay of 100 days in filing of the appeal is condoned and I.A. No.3062 of 2018 is allowed and disposed of. Petitioner, claiming to be the Pramukh of Panchayat Samiti, filed the writ petition in question seeking a mandamus to the authorities of the State Government for release of fund to the Panchayat Samiti for construction of a P.C.C. road. As the petition was filed in her individual capacity, without resolution of the Panchayat to file the writ petition and without there being any

Patna High Court LPA No.542 of 2018 dt.19-04-2018 2/2 authorization on behalf of the Panchayat authorizing the petitioner to file the writ petition on behalf of the Panchayat, the learned Writ Court has rejected the application and rightly so as the petitioner individually does not have any right to prosecute the case of the Panchayat. Panchayat Samiti should have filed the writ petition through the Panchayat as under the Panchayati Raj Act the Panchayat is a legal entity, a juristic person having a right to sue in its own name and this having not been done in the present case, the learned Writ Court has rightly dismissed the writ petition and we see no reason to interfere into the matter.

The appeal stands dismissed.

(Rajendra Menon, CJ) ( Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, J) K.C.Jha/- AFR/NAFR NAFR CAV DATE N/A Uploading Date 30.04.2018 Transmission Date