SC Ruling, President’s Push: Govt Gears Up to Act Against ‘Panchayat Patis’
The Panchayat ministry, which has already formed an advisory committee on the issue, will submit a report this month and take appropriate action as recommended by the government, News18 has learnt
In December 2024, while addressing an event for sarpanches (panchayat chiefs), President Droupadi Murmu had urged women sarpanches to assert control, blaming the ‘Panchayat Pati’ phenomenon—where husbands of elected women representatives wield power—for undermining grassroots democracy.
The Panchayat ministry, which has already formed an advisory committee on the issue, will submit a report this month and take appropriate action as recommended by the government, News18 has learnt.
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The issue has been a matter of concern for the government as well but prodding by the President has made it more crucial than before. President Murmu, who rose from a humble background, also started her political career as an independent member of a panchayat in Odisha.
“When the government introduced reservation for women in panchayats, it was meant to be a landmark step toward political empowerment. Instead, it gave rise to a parallel power structure, one that operates from behind the scenes. They continue to wield authority, reducing these women to mere figureheads," said a senior officer.
“The issue has become so crucial and pervasive that even the President of India urged the women sarpanches to assert control, while the Panchayati Raj Ministry has already set up a committee to study and curb this backdoor governance," he added, saying the report will be tabled this month.
Progress on the ‘Panchayat Pati’ report
The committee was formed following an order by the Supreme Court in connection with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the issue. The SC, in its order, stated: “Constitute a committee of experts to examine the issue of Women Pradhan being represented by the male members of their families and also examine other issues related thereto for making the reservation for women meaningful to promised by Part IX of the Constitution of India and also Panchayati Raj Acts passed by the various State Government of India. Taking into account the report submitted by this Committee, the Government of India may take further steps as may be considered necessary to implement the suggestions made by the Committee."
Accordingly, the advisory committee consisting of senior IAS officers, consultants of the ministries concerned, and senior members of National Women Rights Commission and UNICEF (India) held several meetings over the past few months and also met several elected women representatives (EWR) of panchayats across states. The tenure of the committee was extended till January 18 and the report has been drafted and is due for submission.
Following the meetings held by the committee and based on the outcomes of the meetings, a report on the experience of EWRs in the panchayats and a note on the panchayat-self-help group convergence were submitted to the ministry and also shared with all the state panchayati raj departments and state commissions for women for their inputs. Other related ministries also shared their inputs in this regard. These above-mentioned reports and notes have been referred to under different sections of the advisory committee report, said another senior officer of the ministry.
“Response received from 24 States and UTs and from 15 state commissions for women, including Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Mizoram, Telangana, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal, in respect of the consultative paper circulated by the ministry have been compiled in a suitable format," he added.
Women Pradhan as ‘Proxies’
An expert who works with a state panchayat department as a consultant said the phenomenon of ‘Panchayat Patis’ exposes a ‘fundamental flaw’ in the implementation of political reservations for women.
“While the policy was designed to increase female participation, it has instead reinforced male dominance in many cases, with husbands or male relatives running the show under the guise of women leadership. We have seen how these men, often local political strongmen, use their wives as proxies to maintain their grip on power," he said.
He, however, pointed out that there are instances of truly empowered women sarpanches. “Even though we know that independent women sarpanches exist, the overall trend has been concerning. Several state governments have attempted to counteract this practice by offering leadership training for women representatives, yet the influence of ‘Panchayat Patis’ remains deeply entrenched," he added.
The upcoming report by the panchayati raj ministry is expected to be critical in assessing the scale of this issue and recommending solutions and redressal in some cases to ensure that political reservation for women translates into real, independent leaderships.
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