Item No.36 31.08.2026 Court. No. 12 GB MAT 1373 of 2026 With CAN 1 of 2026 Tumpa Mondal VS Soumen Kumar Roy @ Soumen Roy & Ors. Mr. Soumya Majumder, Sr. Adv., Mr. Vivekananda Bose, Mr. Subroto Sarkar, Mr. Ratikanta Pal, Mr. Rittwik Mondal, Mr. Sattwik Dutta … for the Appellant. Mr. Sankar Prasad Dalapati, Mr. Pritam Choudhury, Mr. Sourav Mandal, Mr. Dipankar Naskar … for the Respondent No.1 Ms. Susmita Saha Dutta, Ld. AGP., Mr. Niladri Saha … for the State. 1. The appeal arises out of an order dated July 30, 2026, passed in WPCRC 131 of 2026. By the order impugned, the learned Single Judge while deciding the contempt application passed the following directions:- “*****5. The Secretary, Panchayat and Rural Development Department is directed to take note of the functioning of the contemnor as Pradhan of the Tardaha Gram Panchayat. The Secretary may also consider appointing an Administrator to take over the management of the Panchayet and maintain the day-to-day affairs of the Panchayat so that the inhabitants of the Panchayat are not deprived of the public utility services. 6. The Inspector-in-Charge of the Kolkata Leather Complex Police Station is directed to cause an investigation into the bank accounts and other financial details of the contemnor to ascertain the nature of transactions reflected in her bank account. The contemnor is directed to disclose all her bank details to the Inspector-in-Charge of the Kolkata Leather Complex Police Station. If any 2 illegality is detected, then necessary steps, in accordance with law, shall be taken. 7. The investigation report shall be produced before this Court on the adjourned date. 8. The matter is made returnable on 17th September, 2026. 9. Personal appearance of the contemnor stands dispensed with for the time being. 10. Learned advocate of the petitioner is directed to communicate this order to the Secretary, Panchayat and Rural Development and to the Inspecot-in-Charge of the Kolkata Leather Complex Police Station forthwith.****” 2. These directions were passed on the observation of Her Lordship which is quoted below:- “***4. The issue relates to unauthorized construction. As the Pradhan is absolutely not in a position to deal with the issue of unauthorized construction and the same is beyond her competence, the Court is compelled to direct the pradhan to forthwith forward the file of the subject case to the concered Sub Divisional Officer to take a decision on the allegation of unauthorized construction made by the private respondent. The Sub-Divisional officer shall take steps to comply the order passed by the Court on 28th February, 2024.” 3. We understand the predicament of the Court in a contempt proceeding when the alleged contemnor repeatedly flouts the order. The Pradhan did not comply with the order and failed to understand the implications thereof. Inspite of extending several opportunities and issuing Rule, the Pradhan did not take steps as directed in the writ petition. 4. However, as the Pradhan is an elected member of the gram panchayat and holds office as the pradhan on the vote of the majority members of the gram panchayat, the directions passed by Her Lordship will take away all 3 the rights conferred upon such elected representative under the law. The process of removal of the Pradhan must be in accordance with the law. 5. In the event Her Lordship was satisfied that the Pradhan was in contempt, steps should have been taken under the Contempt of Courts Act. 6. Under such circumstances, the order impugned is set aside. We request Her Lordship to revisit the issue on the basis of the observations made by us. 7. Let the matter appear before Her Lordship on the date fixed, i.e. on September 17, 2026. Within which time, the gram panchayat shall comply with the order of Her Lordship passed in the writ petition, in its letter and spirit. 8. An inspection of the premises shall be held in the presence of the parties. The writ petitioners as also the person(s) responsible for the construction shall be present for such inspection on September 7, 2026 at 11 a.m. The report of inspection shall be prepared and supplied to the concerned parties. Parties will respond to the same and, thereafter, an order will be passed afresh, upon hearing all the parties. The same shall be produced before Her Lordship. 9. In the event, it is found that the construction is in violation of law, the records will be sent to the Sub- Divisional Officer in terms of Section 23 (5) of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973. 4 10. Accordingly, the appeal and the connected application are disposed of. 11. Parties are directed to act on the basis of the server copy of this order. (Shampa Sarkar, J.) (Arjun Ray Mukherjee, J.)