JOITABHAI MAGANDAS PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent has been filed by the appellant challenging the oral judgement dtd. 14/3/2023 passed by the learned Single Judge. The learned Single Judge dismissed the petition of the appellants on the ground that the petitioners/appellants herein can avail an alternative efficacious remedy of filing an election petition/appeal under Rule 28 of the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Markets Rules, 1965 (hereinafter to be referred to as 'the Rules' for short).

(2.) Facts in brief as set out by the learned Single Judge which we reproduce so as to avoid the reiteration thereof read as under:

(3.) What therefore is evident from the narration of facts is that for the purposes of election of the APMC, Vijapur, a preliminary voters' list was published on 2/9/2023. According to the appellants, the name of the society i.e. Vajapur Seva Sahakari Mandli Limited was included in the voters' list in the capacity of members of the Managing Committee and the names of the appellants were included in the voters' list. On one Jayantibhai Patel lodging an objection against the inclusion of the appellants on the ground that the newly elected committee be included by deleting the name of the appellants, the objections were rejected and the provisional voters' list was published on 22/9/2023. A final voters' list was published on 3/10/2023. Briefly, the election program was suspended due to covid and thereafter, after an order of the director dtd. 17/1/2023, voting commenced on 3/2/2023 and when the petitioners-appellants had gone to vote, they were restrained to cast their votes on the ground that their qualification as voters under Rule 6 of the Rules were not satisfied, the Presiding Officer passed the impugned order dtd. 3/2/2023 restraining from casting their votes. That order was a subject matter of challenge in the captioned petition.