NEW DELHI: Supreme Court flagged the colonial mindset among bureaucrats who habitually attempt to boss over elected representatives, especially women, in grassroots democratic institutions and said they must instead encourage women’s participation and leadership in governance.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan noted with concern that this was a recurring pattern of treatment meted out to elected women representatives in panchayats, where administrative authorities collude with panchayat members to exact vendetta against female sarpanches.
The bench ordered reinstatement of a woman sarpanch, Sonam Lakra, to a gram panchayat in Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, action against whom was started on flimsy grounds during Congress regime led by Bhupesh Baghel and defended by BJP govt led by Vishnu Deo Sai.
Praising the development work undertaken by 27-year-old Lakra, the bench said chief executive officer of the janpad panchayat, despite lacking technical expertise regarding the time required for such projects, issued a work order on Dec 16, 2022, mandating completion of the development work within three months. This order was served on Lakra on March 21, 2023, ironically the last day of the three-month period. She was issued a show cause notice for delay in execution of the work, which she denied.
“Despite her explanation, bureaucratic high handedness led to her removal from office on Jan 18, 2024,” the bench said. HC had rejected her plea. Justices Kant and Bhuyan termed the allegations against her “bald” and her removal “lackadaisical and hasty”. “Administrative authorities, with their colonial mindset, have regrettably failed yet again to recognise the fundamental distinction between an elected public representative and a selected public servant,” the bench said.
The bench said, “Invariably, elected representatives like Lakra are often treated as subordinate to bureaucrats, compelled to comply with directives that serve to encroach upon their autonomy and impinge their accountability. This misconceived and self-styled supervisory power is asserted with an intention to equate elected representatives with public servants holding civil posts, completely disregarding the democratic legitimacy conferred by election.”
SC said when the nation was striving to become an economic superpower, such incidents were occurring regularly and were being normalised. “Administrative authorities should lead by example, making efforts to promote women empowerment and support female-led initiatives in rural and remote areas. Instead of adopting regressive attitudes that discourage women in elected positions, they must foster an environment that encourages their participation and leadership in governance,” it said.