PRABHAKAR YAJNIK Vs. DIST MAGISTRATE BULANDSHAHR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Article 226 of the Con-stitution.

(2.) A general election to the Anupshahr Municipal Board will be held in the course of the next few days and the petitioner, who is at present the Junior Vice-Chairman of the Board, is desirous of becoming a candidate for the office of President. He duly filed his nomination papers, but on the 26th September last respondent No. 4 lodged an objection before the Electoral Registration officer alleging that the petitioner was not entitled to stand as a candidate on the ground that his name was improperly included in the municipal electoral roll. A summary enquiry was held by the Electoral Registration Officer, the third respondent, who by an order of the 2nd October, 1953, upheld the objection and directed that the petitioner's name be removed from the municipal electoral roll. On the 6th October, 1953, the petitioner's nomination paper was rejected by the Returning Officer, who is respondent No. 2, on the ground that the petitioner's name did not appear in the municipal electoral roll.

(3.) THE petitioner now comes to this Court with a three-fold prayer, for a writ in the nature of 'certiorari' to quash the order of the Electoral Registration Officer made on the 2nd October; secondly, for a writ in the nature of 'mandamus' to command the Electoral Registration Officer and the Returning Officer to restore his name to the municipal electoral roll; and, thirdly, for a writ in the nature of 'mandamus' to command the Returning Officer to re-scrutinise his nomination paper. Learned counsel for the petitioner concedes that unless he succeeds in obtaining the first two of these reliefs he cannot be entitled to the third.