BABU RAM Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a special appeal against an order of Mr. Justice Tandon dismissing a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution.

(2.) Babu Ram, the appellant, was declared elected Pradhan of Gram Sabha Rutha as a result of an election held in 1955. Himmat Gir, respondent No. 3, filed an election petition before the Sub-Divisional Officer and challenged the appellant's election on the ground that he was less than thirly years of age at the time of his election to the office of Pradhan. The Sub-Divisional Officer found on the basis of evidence before him that the appellant was actually less than thirty years of age at the time of his nomination and consequently allowed the election petition, set aside the election of the appellant and declared Himmat Gir to be the duly eletced Pradhan of village Rutha. The appellant then filed the writ petition and prayed for the quashing of this order of the Sub-Divisional Officer.

(3.) The grounds against the correctness of the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer were, firstly, that no question of improper acceptance or rejection of a nomination arose when no objection to the nomination of the appellant was taken at the time of the scrutiny of nomination papers and, secondly, that the question of the appellant being not qualified to be chosen a Pradhan on account of his being less than thirty years of age had to be decided by the prescribed authority, that is the Tahsildar, in view or the provisions of Section 6-A of the U. P. Panchayat Raj Act 194Y read with Rule 14 of the U. P. Panchayat Raj Rules. The other grounds mentioned in the petition dealt with the correctness of the entries relied upon by the Sub-Divisional Officer or the admissibility in evidence of the documents considered by the Sub-Divisional Officer. They also challenged the propriety of declaring Himmat Gir to be the duly elected candidate. They did not however include the ground that the Sub-Divisional Officer had to accept the record of age in the village family register as correct -- a point which was raised before the learned fudge and which alone had been raised by the learned counsel for the appellant before us.