REENA RANI BEHERA Vs. JHILLI BEHERA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) JUDGMENT dated 30.11.2012 passed by the learned District Judge, Jajpur in Election Appeal No.5 of 2012 setting aside the judgment dated 12.10.2012 in Election Misc. Case No.12 of 2012 passed by the learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Chandikhole in Election Misc. Case No.12 of 2012 and remanding the case to the learned Civil Judge with direction to re -examine the present opposite party no.1 only to ascertain whether she knows reading and writing Oriya language, permitting her to read and write an ordinary, small, simple Oriya passage (not more than two small sentences) is the subject matter of challenge in this writ application.

(2.) THE petitioner and opposite party no.1 contested the election to the office of Sarpanch of Badabalikuda Grama Panchayat under Badachana Block in the district of Jajpur, during the Panchayat election 2012 and opposite party no.1 got elected as Sarpanch. Her election was challenged by the present petitioner by filing Election Misc. Case No.12 of 2012 on the ground that opposite party no.1 was unable to read and write Oriya and therefore she was disqualified to contest the election for the post of Sarpanch but by suppressing the said fact she filed her nomination. Opposite party no.1 in her written statement denied the allegations made in the election petition. The learned Civil Judge on consideration of the evidence came to the conclusion that opposite party no.1 was unable to read and write Oriya on the date of filing of nomination and therefore in accordance with the provision of Section 11(b) of the Orissa Grampanchayat Act, she was declared disqualified to contest the election. Consequently, the election of opposite party no.1 as Sarpanch was declared as void and further the present petitioner was declared to have been duly elected the Sarpanch of the Grama Panchayat. The judgment as aforesaid passed by the Civil Judge was challenged by the present opposite party no.1 in Election Appeal No.5 of 2012 before the learned District Judge, Jajpur. The learned District Judge came to hold that opposite party no.1 was asked by the trial court during her evidence to read page -23 of CHABILA MADHU BARNA BODHA containing difficult YUKTAKSHYARA (conjoint letters) which should not have been asked and was of the further view that if one can read few Oriya sentences without any YUKTAKSHYARA, the requirement of law would be fulfilled. Accordingly, by the impugned order learned District Judge has set aside the judgment passed by the learned Civil Judge and remanded the case for fresh disposal after examining opposite party no.1 further in order to test her ability to read Oriya permitting her to read and write a passage from a book having ordinary, small, simple Oriya passage (not more than two sentences).

(3.) THE Orissa Grama Panchayat Act does not lay down any definite test to be undertaken to ascertain the ability of a person to read and write Oriya. The mere production of a certificate from a school that the petitioner has read up to a particular class, say up to class -IV and V, cannot by itself be conclusive evidence of the fact that the person is capable of reading and writing Oriya language. Therefore, during the course of evidence of a particular person the power of the court to ask the person concerned to read Oriya passage and to write Oriya language to the dictation of the court cannot be ruled out. A division Bench of this Court in the case of Mrs. Suryakanti Mishra v. State of Orissa & Others : 2005 (Supp.) OLR 906 has also affirmed the decision of the court which was rendered on the basis of conclusion derived by the court from the writing of the person to court's dictation and from the reading of the passage as asked by the court. Though, no specific standard with regard to asserting the ability to read and write Oriya can be fixed, but the reading and writing must be such as would be reasonably correct and meaningful.