PANNA LAL Vs. HAR NARAIN AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Panna Lal, the petitioner in the case, challenge the decision of the Additional S.D.O., Meerut, in an election petition under Sec. 12-C of the Panchayat Raj Act, setting aside his election as Pradhan of a certain Gaon Sabha.

(2.) The petitioner's election has been set aside on the ground that his nomination paper was improperly accepted, because he was disqualified from being chosen as Pradhan by reason of the fact that he held an office of profit under the Government, being as officer in the National Cadet Corps. The petitioner, who is a physical training instructor in the Modi Science and Commerce Intermediate College, Modinagar, admittedly holds the post of second officer in the N.C.C. Junior Division of that College; and it is for the admitted that he receives the sum of Rs. 35/- per month as honorarium in connection with his work as a Cadet Corps Officer. It is contended, however, that such a post does not constitute an "office of profit" under the State Government, the Central Government or any local authority, so as to operate as a disqualification under Sec. 5-A of the U.P. Panchayat Raj Act.

(3.) The words "office of profit" have not been defined in the Act and their interpretation is not free from difficulty. There can be little doubt that a National Cadet Corps Officer holds an office under the Central Government, for he is commissioned by the Government of India (vide Rule 21(5) of the National Cadet Corps Rules, 1948), can be dismissed by the Defence Secretary (vide rule 40(1) and is liable to perform all the duties assigned by the Central Government under Sections 9 and 10 of the National Cadet Corps Act, 1948. The question arises, however, whether this office can be described as an office of profit.