PRAVAT KUMAR PRADHAN Vs. BIJAYANANDA BAIRIGANJAN AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The confirming appellate judgment dated 19.03.2014 passed by the learned Additional District Judge, Nayagarh in Election Appeal No. 707/03 of 2012 -2013 as well as the original Judgment passed by the Election Tribunal -cum -Addl. Civil Judge (Junior Division), Ranpur in Election Misc. Case No. 2 of 2012 on 10.09.2012 are impugned by the petitioner in this writ application as illegal and invalid.

(2.) Petitioner is the elected Sarpanch of Gourangapur Grama Panchayat of Nayagarh district. Opposite Party No. 1 was the election petitioner before the learned Election Tribunal and Respondent No. 1 before the appellate court. Election for the post of Sarpanch of Gourangapur Grama Panchayat was held in February, 2012. Initially, counting of ballots was held and the present O.P. No. 1 was found to have polled 766 votes and the present petitioner, who was O.P. No. 1 before the Election Tribunal, was found to have polled 754 votes. There was application for recounting by both the parties. The Election Officer held recounting and it was found that the present petitioner has polled 826 votes and the present O.P. No. 1 has polled 802 votes. It is alleged that, without complying with the provisions contained in Rule - 51 of the Orissa Grama Panchayat Rules, without conforming to the Forms 8 -A & 8 -B and without declaring the result first before ordering for recounting, the Election Officer has contravened the provisions of the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act, 1964 ('Act' for short) and Orissa Grama Panchayat Election Rules, 1965 ("Election Rules" for short), and therefore the election is null and void. Alleging some other grounds also, the present O.P. No. 1 filed the election dispute before the Election Tribunal. The present petitioner and other Opp. Parties filed their written statements separately refuting the allegation of the present Opp. Party No. 1 (Petitioner before the Election Tribunal).

(3.) Learned Election Tribunal framed the following issues: - -