HC Flags Concept Of ‘Sarpanch-Patis’ Prevalent In Odisha

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has flagged the the overarching control of sarpanch-patis (husband of sarpanchs) in the state, which was the first to introduce one third reservation for women in Panchayats with an aim at empowering them at the grassroots level of democracy,

The Single Bench of Dr Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi observed that such system of ‘proxy sarpanch’ or ‘sarpanch-patism’ defeats the very purpose of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992. “This genre of Sarpanch-patism undermines the spirit and purpose of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 with provisions for empowerment of women at the grassroots level and violates the constitutional rights and dignity of women, who are reduced to “faceless sarpanches” at the grassroots politics. It deprives them of their agency, autonomy, and voice in public affairs.”

The court was hearing a writ petition filed by a ‘Gaon Saathi’ who was allegedly restrained from discharging his duties by the husband of a female sarpanch of Turechhada gram panchayat in the district of Kalahandi.

The state government instead has been asked to specify the steps taken to empower the female panchayat heads and members to handle local governance challenges.

This came months after a parliamentary panel in its report called for focus on empowering women elected representatives in panchayati raj institutions through training and capacity building to weed out sarpanch-pati or pradhan-pati.