RAMA CHANDRA DEO Vs. SUB-DIVISIONAL OFFICER AND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FACTS may be stated in short. The dates of filing of nominations and of scrutiny of the nomination papers for the office of the Chairman of the Nuagaon Panchayat Samiti in the district of Puri were respectively fixed for 26th of December 1970 and 29th of December 1970. The Petitioner's nomination was rejected on 29 -12 -1970 by the Election Officer by his order (Annexure 3) on the ground that his name was not in the Assembly electoral roll. The Assembly electoral roll was published on 15th of January 1970 and admittedly it did not contain the Petitioner's name. The electoral roll of the Grama Panchayat was published on 1st of May 1970 under Rule 8 of the Orissa Grama Panchayat Election Rules, 1965 wherein the Petitioner's name occurs. In July 1970 the Petitioner was elected as Sarpanch of the Berhuanbari Grama Panchayat. He was also the Sarpanch in the previous term. His case is that though his name did not find place in the Assembly electoral roll, yet he was eligible to contest the election for the office of the Chairman of the Panchayat Samiti inasmuch as he was a Sarpanch by the date of the filing of the Domination. Contesting opposite parties have filed counter affidavits asserting that the nomination of the Petitioner was rightly rejected during scrutiny as his name did not occur in the Assembly electoral roll and he was not duly elected as a Sarpanch of Berhuanbari Grama Panchayat. The writ application has been filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution to quash the impugned order (Annexure 3) whereby the Petitioner's nomination was rejected.

(2.) THE only question for consideration is whether the Petitioner's nomination was illegally rejected.

(3.) RULES 5 and 7 of the Orissa Panchayat Samiti (Conduct of Election) Rules, 1970 (hereinafter to be referred as the Rules) are extracted hereunder: