In Brief
A Gram Panchayat held a no-confidence motion against its Sarpanch (village head). Of nine members, eight attended the meeting; one had not filed a required caste certificate and was disqualified from voting. Six members voted to remove the Sarpanch, but one of those six was the disqualified member, leaving only five valid votes. The question was whether five votes constituted the necessary two-thirds majority. The Supreme Court held that two-thirds of eight entitled members equals 5.33, which must be rounded up to six—not down to five—because votes cannot be fractions and the statute requires "not less than" two-thirds. The Court set aside the lower decisions approving the motion.
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