Supreme Court Declines To Entertain Plea Concerning Women Reservation in Panchayats, Permits Petitioner To Approach Government

New Delhi, July 6: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a petition related to reservation of seats for women in panchayati raj institutions claiming a proxy process was being followed where men behind women were running the panchayats, and permitted the petitioner to make a representation to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

"We are not an executive authority," a bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia told the counsel for the petitioner, an Uttar Pradesh-based social start-up. 'Eknath Shinde Will Continue as Chief Minister for Full Term Till 2024', Assures Maharashtra BJP Chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

The petitioner's counsel told the bench the plea pertains to the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992 which relates to representation of women at the grass roots level in rural self-government bodies.

The counsel said the legislature passed the law over 30 years ago but the executive has failed to implement it, and the apex court can direct formation of a committee to look into this issue. Manipur Violence: Woman Shot Dead in Imphal West; Gunfire Heard in Kangpokpi.

"You say it is being done by proxy. Can we preclude women from contesting?" the bench observed, adding, "It is an evolutionary process". In its order, the bench noted the petitioner seeks to flag the manner in which 50 per cent reservation accorded to women in Panchayati Raj institutions is working.

"It is not that the petition gives some solution to the problem flagged i.e. a proxy process being followed in election of these Pradhans. It is her (counsel for petitioner) submission that actually the men behind the women are operating the Panchayats," the bench noted.

"We did put to the counsel as to what can judicial intervention do in this scenario as you cannot preclude a section of women merely because they are willing to lend their shoulders to this scenario. Her submission is that a committee be constituted to look into the problem. We believe this is not the function of this court," it said.

During the hearing, the top court asked the petitioner's counsel whether they have made a representation to any government department about it. It said the petition does not contain or propose any solution to the issue raised in it.

"We feel that it is for the respondent-Ministry of Panchayati Raj to look into the grievance raised by the petitioner as to whether there is a better mechanism to implement the object of women reservation," the bench said.

"Thus we permit the petitioner to make a representation to the respondent which should naturally look into the issue flagged by the petitioner-foundation. With the aforesaid observation, the petition stands disposed of," it said.

There have been allegations that husbands or other male relatives of women members of panchayati raj institutions wielded real power after seats were reserved for women under the amended law.

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