Supreme Court seeks reforms to address gender discrimination in village councils
Gender discrimination in village councils: Supreme Court suggests administrative authorities to lead by example
Expressing its strong displeasure over pervasive patterns of unfair treatment meted out to elected women representatives, especially female Sarpanches across the country, the Supreme Court recently suggested the administrative authorities to promote women empowerment and support female-led initiatives in rural & remote areas.
Terming the administrative authorities as ‘custodians’ of actual powers, the Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan advised them to lead by example, fostering an environment that encouraged female participation and leadership in governance, rather that adopting a regressive attitude that discourage women from discharging their duties in elected positions.
Noting that such instances highlighted a systemic issue of prejudice and discrimination, the Bench said a nation striving to be an economic powerhouse could not allow such gender discrimination to continue.
It was particularly disheartening to know that the removal of an elected female representative, especially in rural and remote areas, was frequently treated as a casual matter, wherein disregarding principles of natural justice and democratic processes were treated as a time-honored tradition, observed the Apex Court.
The consistent reoccurrence and normalisation of such events, coupled with the fact that these incidents bore striking similarities even in geographically distant regions, required serious introspection and reforms, it added.
The Bench made the observations, while dealing with a petition filed by one Sonam Lakra, former Sarpanch of the Sajbahar Gram Panchayat. The petitioner contended that the Sajbahar Gram Panchayat was assigned several development works, including 10 construction projects for roads.
The 27-year-old claimed that she was eventually blamed for delays in completing the construction work and removed from her post in January 2024. Sonam submitted that she initially moved the High Court for relief, but after the High Court rejected her petition, she approached the Supreme Court.
Noting that the female Sarphanch had been singled out and selectively blamed for construction delays, even though the responsibility to oversee the development project was shared by several Panchayat members, the Apex Court observed that such proceedings were initiated against the appellant on a flimsy pretext, so as to remove her from office under false and untenable grounds.
The top court of the country reinstated Lakra and also awarded her Rs one lakh compensation for the harassment she suffered.
The Bench remarked that the ouster of Lakra marked yet another case where the administrative authorities and other Panchayat members colluded to exact a vendetta against a female sarpanch.
It also criticised the tendency to treat elected representatives as ‘subordinate’ to bureaucrats, in order to compel them to comply with directives that may violate their autonomy.
The Bench said this misconceived and self-styled supervisory power was asserted with an intention to equate elected representatives with public servants holding civil posts, completely disregarding the democratic legitimacy conferred by election.