PINTO VOILET MARIENE Vs. CANTONMENT BOARD ITEIGAUM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) the petitioner is admittedly the resident of the cantonment board (herein after referred to as 'the board') which was scheduled to go to the polls to constitute an administration committee for the board. The petitioner opted to enter the fray and duly filed her nomination before the assigning officer who was assigned the task of holding the election. But unfortunately for this lady her nomination paper was rejected by the r.o. by an order dated 30-12-1991, a copy of which is produced at Annexure -d. Aggrieved by the rejection of her nomination paper, the petitioner has preferred this writ petition assailing (sic) the action of the r.o. characterising it as wholly arbitrary, totally indefensible palpably erroneous and asking me to interfere by striking down the order of the returning officer at Annexure-D and follow it up by a fiat issued to the r.o. to entertain the nomination paper of the petitioner so that she could also contest the election which although scheduled to be held on 31st of january, 1992 has since been stayed by this court and hereafter will have to be rescheduled irrespective of the outcome of this writ petition.

(2.) I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner Sri Visweswara and learned counsel Sri Koti who appears for the board as well as the r.o. I have also heard the learned senior counsel Sri H.B. Datar who appears for respondent-5.

(3.) the point of Mr. Visweswara is that the r.o. has made a mountain out of amole hill in that instead of using an abbreviated form, the petitioner described her husband's name in her nomination paper in an expanded form the r.o. took exception to this as the name of petitioner's husband in the electoral roll is found in the abbreviated form. According to learned counsel. The r.o. instead of giving an opportunity to the petitioner to correct this discrepancy, chose to reject the petitioners nomination paper on this very flimsy and inconsequential ground of wrong description be (sic) of her husband's name in her nomination paper.