21 1111..0099..22002266 Ct. No.15 b.das WPA 24497 of 2026 Sk. Sabir Ali & Ors. Vs. The State of W.B. & Ors. Mr. Samim Ahammed Md. Nasirul Haque Ms. Reshma Khatun …for the petitioners. Mr. Vivekananda Bose Mr. Ratikanta Pal…for the respondent nos.5 & 6. Mr. Amarendra Chakraborty Mr. Avik Biswas …for the State. Affidavit of service filed by the petitioners is taken on record. The petitioners who are members of Pole-1 Gram Panchayat submitted a no confidence motion for removal of the Pradhan of the Panchayat on 6th November, 2025 but no meeting was held pursuant to the said motion. Subsequently, the petitioners submitted a fresh motion on 24th August, 2026 pursuant to which a notice of meeting was issued by the Prescribed Authority on 27th August, 2026 to ascertain the genuineness of the motion. However, by a further notice issued on 1st September, 2026, the Prescribed Authority cancelled the scheduled meeting fixed on 3rd September, 2026 on the ground of submission of the earlier motion. The Prescribed Authority has taken recourse to Section 12(11) of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973. 2 Section 12 (11) of the Act envisages that if the motion is not carried by the majority of its existing members or the meeting cannot be held for want of quorum, no notice of any subsequent motion for the removal of the same office bearer shall be taken into cognizance within a period of one year from the date appointed for such meeting. Since the earlier motion did not reach the stage of meeting at all, Section 12(11) of the Act was not applicable therein. The order impugned dated 1st September, 2026 passed by the Block Development Officer/ Prescribed Authority has no leg to stand upon and is therefore, quashed/set aside. Strangely, the Prescribed Authority has ignored the fact that the motion does not contain the party affiliations of the members who signed the same. The said authority should have held the motion invalid on such score. However, the petitioners seek liberty to submit a fresh motion in terms of Section 12 of the Act. Such liberty is granted. In the event such motion is submitted, the Prescribed Authority shall take necessary steps in terms of the said provision of law, particularly the time frame stipulated therein. The writ petition is disposed of accordingly. There shall, however, be no order as to costs. Since no affidavit is invited, the allegations contained in the writ petition are deemed not to have been admitted. 3 Urgent certified website copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance with all requisite formalities. (Suvra Ghosh, J.)