A RAJAN Vs. LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a writ petition filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. It is the case of the petitioner that in 2007 parliamentary election list for Prothrapur area under village Prothrapur-II under Port Blair Tehsil, District of South Andaman was finalized on 2.5.2007. In the said list, the names of private respondent nos.3 to 9 appeared at serial no. 1348, 1350, 1351 to 1355 respectively. In fact, the private respondents are the residents of Prothrapur and, as such, their names were rightly reflected in the parliamentary list of 2007. The private respondents did not raise any objection for such recording of their names. For 2010 Panchayat constituency, the respondent no.2 published the draft electoral roll of 2010 for the Gram Panchayat constituency Brichgunj-I under Gram Panchayat, Brichgunj, wherefrom, it appears that the names of the petitioner and his wife/children appeared at serial no. 4, 5, 6 and 7 respectively. But the names of the private respondents were not appearing in the draft publication. The objections were invited in the matter of revision of draft publication. The petitioner raised objection in the prescribed form for such recording of the names of the private respondents. But the respondent authorities for some extraneous consideration included the names of private respondents by way of supplementary list for electoral roll 2010 of Brichgunj-I Gram Panchayat Constituency. The private respondents are not residing in the village Brichgunj, having no dwelling house/landed property therein. They have their dwelling house only within the Prothrapur Gram Panchayat. The inclusion of names of the private respondents in the list of Brichgunj Gram Panchayat is unjustifiable and unconstitutional. For the said reasons, the petitioner has filed the instant writ petition.

(2.) The respondent no.2 has filed affidavit-in-opposition contending, inter-alia, that the private respondents reside at Brichgunj and not at Prothrapur. The petitioner has suppressed the material fact that in the electoral roll of 2009, the names of private respondents appeared in the parliamentary list of 2009 at serial no. 1167 to 1174. The said electoral roll has never been challenged by the petitioner. The names of the private respondents appeared in the draft electoral roll of 2010 and the same was done within the knowledge of the writ petitioner. The petitioner submitted an application before the Electoral Registration Officer in the prescribed form and after hearing the petitioner, the same was rejected. The petitioner has no documentary proof to show that the house of the private respondents is situated at Prothrapur village. The writ petitioner has approached this Honble Court without exhausting the remedy provided under the provisions of law.

(3.) Mrs. Nag appearing on behalf of the respondents submits that the writ petitioner has not come with clean hands. She contends that the petitioner has suppressed the material fact of recording of names of the private respondents in 2009 parliamentary list. It is submitted that in the draft electoral list of panchayat constituencies for the year 2010, Brichgunj-I, the names of the private respondents appeared at serial nos. 127 to 134. Mrs. Nag submits that the writ petition should be dismissed with exemplary costs.