Dharwad
A division bench of High Court has quashed appointment of an Administrator by the State Government to the Karnataka Province of Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha (DBHPS) which has its headquarters at Dharwad. The bench, which heard a contempt petition filed by Rayappa and Mallappa Pudakalakatti, decreed that the elections to the Karnataka province of DBHPS by Special Secretary SB Hinchigeri was as per law and Constitution of DBHPS and quashed the petition. The petitioners had contended that the ad hoc committee had failed to comply with the court order which mandated conducting of elections to the Karnataka province of DBHPS. They had appealed the state government’s cooperation department to appoint an administrator and accordingly the state government on December 28, 2023, had appointed the Dharwad subdivision Assistant Commissioner  (AC) as the Administrator. The AC had taken charge on the same day. However, the state government later withdrew its appointment order after realising that petitions were pending before the high court and the verdict was awaited. The central sabha which governs the regional units had in May 2020 superseded the Managing Committee of Karnataka Provincial Sabha citing gross violation of rules, by-laws and Constitution of the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha’s Karnataka Provincial Sabha. It had appointed a three-member committee to manage the day-to-day affairs of the provincial sabha.
