Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
The minimum age prescribed for any person to be a member of a Panchayat is 25 years.
A Panchayat reconstituted after premature dissolution continues only for the remainder period.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Only 1
Only 2
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is incorrect. Under Article 243F, a person cannot be disqualified for membership of a Panchayat merely because the person has not attained 25 years of age, provided the person has attained the age of 21 years. Therefore, the minimum age for Panchayat membership is 21 years, not 25 years.
Confusion may arise because the ordinary minimum age for membership of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies is 25 years. The Constitution prescribes the lower age of 21 years for Panchayat membership.
Statement 2 is correct. Under Article 243E, every Panchayat continues for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting unless it is dissolved earlier under a law in force.
When a Panchayat is prematurely dissolved, an election to constitute a new Panchayat must ordinarily be completed within six months. However, if the remaining term of the dissolved Panchayat is less than six months, it is not necessary to hold an election merely for that short remainder.
A Panchayat constituted after premature dissolution does not receive a fresh five-year tenure. It continues only for the remaining period for which the dissolved Panchayat would have continued. A fresh five-year term is available only to a Panchayat constituted after the normal expiration of the previous Panchayat’s tenure.