Hyderabad: The Telangana high court has dismissed a writ petition filed by Soyam Sameera, one of the youngest elected sarpanches, who challenged her disqualification on the ground that she had not attained the mandatory age of 21 at the time of filing her nomination.Sameera, who claims to be 23, had approached the court against a March 12 order issued by the revenue divisional officer (RDO) of Kagaznagar, that disqualified her from the post of sarpanch of Dhorapally village in Asifabad district.Delivering the verdict, Justice E V Venugopal held that the law provides a specific mechanism for addressing election disputes. Referring to Sections 28 and 242 of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, the court observed that civil courts are barred from entertaining such matters and that election results can only be challenged through an election petition before the competent tribunal. The judge found no merit in interfering with the RDO’s order.The court also upheld the authority of the RDO, stating that under the relevant GO applicable to Agency areas, the officer was empowered to act in such cases. The petitioner had questioned the competence of the RDO, arguing that her disqualification was arbitrary and violated Sections 27 and 28 of the Act. Her counsel contended that the officer acted without proper legal authority and relied solely on photocopies of educational certificates submitted by a political rival, without verification from the school authorities concerned.It was further argued that the RDO could not assume the role of an Agency divisional officer to pass such an order in a Scheduled Area.Opposing the plea, the assistant govt pleader for panchayat raj department submitted that the petition was misconceived. Citing GO No. 4, the counsel argued that the term “agency divisional officer” includes the RDO in Scheduled Agency areas. The counsel also emphasised that, under Section 242 of the Act, election disputes can only be raised through an election petition.The petitioner’s rival, who finished second in the election, contended that Sameera’s secondary school certificate clearly established her age, rendering her ineligible to contest. She argued that the nomination should have been rejected at the scrutiny stage itself and sought dismissal of the plea.Dismissing the writ petition, the court clarified that the petitioner remains at liberty to pursue remedies before the appropriate forum.
