DHANIRAM MARKAM Vs. SDO (REVENUE) BAIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGING an order -dated 2.6.2012 passed by the Election Tribunal, Baihar, District Balaghat in the matter of conducting recounting of votes and declaring respondent No.2 as an elected Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat in question, this writ petition has been filed.

(2.) IT may be noted that the recounting of votes which is impugned in this writ petition is a result of certain directions issued earlier by this Court on 5.3.2012, in Writ Petition No.9422/2011, filed by the present petitioner.

(3.) CHALLENGING the order of recount dated 30.5.2011 and the result of recounting dated 31.5.2011, a writ petition was filed by the present petitioner before this Court being Writ Petition No.9422/2011 (Dhaniram Markam Vs. Natthu Singh and others). The said writ petition was decided by a Bench of this Court vide order -dated 5.3.2012 ­ Annexure P/7. After appreciating the entire matter, this Court came to the conclusion that the order passed on 30.5.2011, finding infirmity in the counting process, was proper and the direction for recounting was validly passed. Accordingly, challenge made to the order passed for recounting dated 30.5.2011 was dismissed, and the order passed by the Election Tribunal on 30.5.2011 was affirmed. However, as the Election Tribunal itself did not undertake the recounting, but delegated its power of recounting to a third person, the process of recounting and the order passed after recounting on 31.5.2011 was quashed and the matter was remanded back to the Election Tribunal for conducting the recounting afresh, the order passed in the writ petition and the findings recorded in paragraphs 9 and 10, read as under: