A Village Pradhan is elected by the people of the Gram Sabha. Normally on complaints filed by the people of the village, the District Magistrate cease/suspend the administrative and financial powers of the village Pradhan. The District Magistrates, time and again, exercise the power in an arbitrary manner without following the procedure provided under the statute. The financial and administrative powers of Village Pradhan can be suspended only after conducting a preliminary inquiry by a District Level Officer on the basis of a complaint filed by the villager/villagers.
The inquiry is conducted under the provisions contained in the U.P. Panchayat Raj (Removal of Pradhan, Up-Pradhan and Members) Inquiry Rules, 1997.
The preliminary inquiry is initiated on the basis of a complaint, however, the complaint must be supported with an affidavit and in absence of an affidavit, the inquiry cannot be initiated, however, in most of the cases, the inquiry is initiated on the basis of complaint which is not supported with an affidavit. This vitiates the entire inquiry proceeding. The preliminary inquiry has necessarily to be conducted by a District Level Officer and the participation of the Village Pradhan may also be allowed to participate in the preliminary inquiry. If , the allegations made in the complaint are found to be prima-facie correct in the preliminary inquiry then the District Magistrate can exercise power under section 95(1) (g) of U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947.