DESAI DHARAMSINHBHAI TALJABHAI Vs. BABULAL JETHALAL PATEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition arises out of the general election of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Patan and the decision of the Director of Agricultural Marketing & Rural Finance Gujarat State in Election Petition No. 193 of 1985.

(2.) The Director passed and published an order dated 3e-7-1985 fixing 30-11-1985 as the date of election of the members of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Patan. By a notification dated 24 he also fixed 3-9-1985 as the date for communicating to the Authorised Officer the names as required by Rule 7 of the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Markets Rules 1965 for preparation of the lists of voters 24 was the date fixed by him for calling for necessary information by the Authorised Officer. The date for publication of the preliminary lists of voters was fixed as 10-9-1985. The last date for submitting the applications/objections for additions and alterations in preliminary lists was fixed as 24-9-1985. He fixed 27-9-1985 as the date for republication of the preliminary lists of voters prepared after considering the objections and suggestions. 11-10-1985 was the date fixed for submitting objections against the republished preliminary lists of voters. The date of publication of the final lists of voters vas fixed as 16-10-1985. As we are not concerned with the subsequent stages of election fixed by the Director it is not necessary to refer to the same. The election was held on 30-11-1985 and the result was declared on 1

(3.) The petitioners and respondents Nos. 4 5 and 6 were declared elected. Thereafter respondents Nos. 1 2 and 3 filed Election Petition No. 193-of 1985 under Rule 26 of the Rules to the Director challenging the said election with respect to the agriculturists constituency. In the said application it was contended that between 10-10-1985 and 15-10-1985 eight co-operative societies dispensing agricultural credit in the market area submitted their objections to the list of voters for that constituency as published on 27-9-1985 and called upon the Authorised Officer to substitute the names of those who were elected as members of the Managing Committee in their general meetings held after 27-9-1985 in place of those who were members of the old Managing Committee and whose names are shown in the voters lists. The Authorised Officer refused to entertain those objections on the ground that the stage fixed for entering or not entering name of any person in the voters list was already over and that preliminary publication of the voters list as prepared after considering the amendments suggestions and objections was made on 27-9-1985. It was their case that the Authorised Officer was not right in not entertaining the objections filed by the eight co-operative societies and he ought to have deleted the names of the members of the old Managing Committee and added names of 22 persons who were newly elected as Managing Committee Members. It was their case that if those 22 persons were permitted to vote and those who had unauthorisedly voted at the election were prevented from voting then that would have materially affected the result of the election as the difference of votes obtained by the candidates elected and those who lost was less than 22. They had therefore prayed that the entire election with respect to the agricultural constituency should be set aside.