STATE OF TRIPURA Vs. RAKHAL SARKAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE short but interesting question involved in these petitions is whether the Returning Officer and the Secretary to the Panchayat Department, Government of Tripura are proper parties in the election petition.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the facts relevant for deciding the present petitions are that elections were held under the Tripura Panchayats (Conduct of Election) Rules, 1993 for filling up the various posts of members in different Panchayats. As far as these petitions are concerned, they all relate to Panchayats under Boxanagar R.D. Block. In all these election petitions, the Returning Officer and the Secretary to the Panchayat Department, Government of Tripura were impleaded as respondents in the election petitions. The election petitions in terms of Section 198 of the Tripura Panchayats Act, 1993 and Rule 70 of the Tripura Panchayats (Conduct of Election) Rules, 1993 are to be heard by an Election Tribunal. The concerned officers, i.e. the Returning Officer and the Secretary to the Panchayat Department, Government of Tripura filed petitions before the Tribunal praying that they were unnecessary parties in the petition and their names may be deleted from the array of parties. These petitions have been rejected by the impugned order and hence, these petitions under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

(3.) WE have gone through some of the election petitions. In all the election petitions the main allegation was that wrong counting of votes was done. An allegation was also made that the Returning Officer had purposely misplaced some of the votes cast with a view to help the returned candidate. However, the relief claimed against respondents 2 and 3, i.e. the Returning Officer and the Secretary, Panchayat Department, Government of Tripura was only that they should be directed to produce the sealed Ballot box containing the votes cast. Rule 70 of the Tripura Panchayats (Conduct of Election) Rules, 1993 lays down the procedure to be followed while dealing with such petitions. We are concerned with sub -rule (3) and (4) of the Rules which read as follows: -