DULE SINGH Vs. POONAM JAISWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed the present petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India seeking direction to the learned Court to decide the election petition expeditiously.

(2.) The petitioner, being one of the voters, filed an election petition under Sec. 20 of the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1961 and Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Election Rules, 1994 challenging the election of respondent No.1. The election petition was filed on 2/11/2022, now more than one year has been passed and till date, evidence has not begun.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that respondent No.1, i.e. Returning Candidate is filing repeated applications in order to delay the proceedings and the Court has rejected all the applications. One of the orders i.e. dtd. 13/2/2023 has been upheld by this Court. On every day, the application is being filed and the case is being adjourned for filing the reply on its decision. The very purpose of filing the election petition is being frustrated. Learned counsel for the petitioner placed reliance upon a judgment delivered by the Apex Court in the case of Prkhrem Saratchandra Singh v/s Mairembam Prithviraj Alias Prithibiraj Singh reported in (2015) 16 SCC 149, in which the Apex Court has observed that the election petition should be decided expeditiously, where the respondents were also filing series of applications. Paragraph-20 and 21 of the said judgment are reproduced below:-