BASHIR ADAMJI ADAT Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave to add Siraj Mohammad Patel as respondent No. 5. Rule returnable forthwith. Mr. Anjaria for the State Election Commission (respondent No. 4), Ms. Trusha Patel, learned A.G.P. for respondent Nos. 1 to 3 and Mr. Vaghela for Mr. Siraj Mohammad Patel (who is permitted to be joined as respondent No. 5 and who is one of the contesting candidates) waive service of Rule for the respective parties.

(2.) Elections to Sanjali Gram Panchayat were required to be held before 17-1-2007. The elections were not held, and therefore, this Court had to issue a writ of mandamus following the decision of the Apex Court in Kishansing Tomar v. Municipal Corporation of the City of Ahmedabad, AIR 2007 SC 269 : 2007 (1) GLR 332 (SC). By our order dated 11-5-2007, we directed the authorities to hold elections to Sanjali Gram Panchayat at the earliest and in any case before 30-6-2007. We allowed the petition in terms of the following directions :

(3.) After the aforesaid order, the petitioner apprehended that the list of 2106 voters published on 20-10-2006 was sought to be curtailed substantially by deleting 597 names, and therefore, the petitioner filed Misc. Civil Application No. 1387 of 2007 during the summer vacation praying that the elections be directed to be held on the basis of the last published list of voters i.e. the list published by the State Election Commission on 20-10-2006. At the hearing of the said application, the learned A.G.P. placed on record a copy of order No. 1121 dated 25-5-2007 of the Collector, Valsad clearly stating that the elections shall be held on the basis of the list of voters published on 20-10-2006. The petitioner was accordingly permitted to withdraw the Misc. Civil Application as the grievance in the application did not survive in view of the Collector's order dated 25-5-2007.