RAJASEKHAR Vs. CHANDRAKANT VEERABHADRAPPA DESAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner had filed an election dispute under Section 14 read with Section 23 of the Karnataka Zilla Parishads, Taluk Panchayat Samithis, Mandal Panchayats and Nyaya Panchayats Act, 1983, (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') against the order passed by the Election Officer, Mandal Panchayat, Murgod Mandal, Saundatti Taluk, Belgaum District, who had rejected the nomination of the petitioner. Before the Munsiff, Saundatti, in the election petition, the petitioner challenged the rejection of his nomination on the ground that the Returning Officer had not followed the procedure prescribed under the Act. The Munsiff, Saundatti, framed a preliminary issue on the basis of the preliminary objection raised by the respondents therein. It is not disputed that no other issues were framed besides the preliminary issue. The Munsiff, after hearing, came to the conclusion that the election petition was not maintainable in view of the fact that the copies of the election petition had not been attested by the petitioner under his own signature to be the true copies of the petition notwithstanding the mandate of Section 14(3) of the Act. It is this order of the Munsiff that is challenged before this Court.

(2.) The point for consideration is whether the impugned order of the Munsiff is contrary to the provisions of the Act and the Rules thereunder.

(3.) Whereas the learned Counsel for the petitioner Sri. B.V. Ram a moorthy strongly contended that even though the copies of the election petition were not attested by the petitioner, admittedly, these copies were attested by the Advocate of the petitioner who appeared before the MunsifPs Court and such an attestation was valid since attestation contemplated under Section 14(3) of the Act was only recommendatory and did not prohibit attestation by an Advocate. It was also contended by the learned Counsel for the petitioner that there was an infraction of procedural law in as much as all the issues arising in the case on the basis of the pleadings were not raised by the Munsiff, but only a preliminary issue had been framed regarding the maintainability of the election petition.