IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH.
CWP NO.13318 of 2008
Date of Decision:17.10.2008.
Harnek Singh
..........Petitioner.
Versus
State of Punjab and others.
..........Respondents.
CORAM: HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE SATISH KUMAR MITTAL
HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE JASWANT SINGH.
Present: Mr.Vishal Garg,Advocate for the petitioner.
Mr.Mahabir Singh Sindhu,Additional Advocate General,
Punjab for the respondents 1 to 3.
Mr.JS Bhandohal,Advocate for respondent no.4.
SATISH KUMAR MITTAL,J.(ORAL).
The petitioner who contested the election for the post of Panch
and has been defeated has filed the instant petition under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India for setting aside the election of respondent no.4 as
Panch of the Gram Panchayat, who also contested the election of the said
post against reserved category of backward class. It is the case of the
petitioner that respondent no.4 does not belong to a backward community
and by mentioning wrong caste in his nomination papers he contested the
election of Panch.
Counsel for the respondents raised a preliminary objection that
the petitioner has alternative remedy of filing election petition questioning
the election of respondent no.4.
In our opinion, the petitioner is raising disputed questions of
facts and can question the election of respondent no.4 on the aforesaid
CWP NO.13318 of 2008 2
ground only by filing election petition.
In view of the said fact, counsel for the petitioner states that
petitioner may be permitted to withdraw this petition with liberty to file the
election petition challenging the election of respondent no.4 as Panch of
Gram Panchayat of Village Kheri Sodhian. Counsel for the petitioner has
further submitted that since he has filed this petition within the prescribed
limit of 45 days of the declaration of the result, therefore, in view of the law
laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Danda Rajeshwari v.
Bodavula Hanumayamma and others, (1996) 6 SCC 199, the petitioner
may be granted three weeks time to file the election petition with direction
to Election Tribunal to decide that petition on merit.
Counsel for the respondent no.4 has no objection if the election
petition is filed by the petitioner.
In view of the above, this writ petition is dismissed as
withdrawn with liberty to the petitioner to file an election petition under
Section 76 read with section 89 of the Punjab State Election Commission
Act,1994, challenging the election of respondent no.4. In case the election
petition is filed within three weeks from today, the Election Tribunal is
directed to decide the same on merits expeditiously.
(Satish Kumar Mittal)
Judge
17.10.2008. (Jaswant Singh)
joshi Judge