MANORAMA SAHU Vs. KONA RAJESWARI REDDY AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed the present writ application to set aside the impugned judgment dated 6.7.2013 passed by the learned District Judge, Ganjam-Berhampur in Election Appeal No.01 of 2012 by issuing appropriate writ/writs in the nature of writ of certiorari. She has also prayed for cost.

(2.) The facts of the case are as follows:

(3.) The petitioner and opp. party No.1 contested election for the post of Sarpanch of Indrakhi Grama panchayat which was held on 102.2012. In the said election, the petitioner was elected as Sarpanch. Challenging the same, opp. party No.1 filed Election Petition No.01 of 2012 before the court of learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Berhampur on very many grounds. One of the grounds was that the petitioner was unable to read and write Odia as she is required to do under Sub-section (b) of Section 11 of the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act, 1964 (for short, "the Act"). Opp. party No.1 also took a stand that on the date, nominations were scrutinised, she filed an objection before the Returning Officer to reject the nomination of petitioner as she was unable to read and write Odia properly and correctly. The Returning Officer dictated a sentence to the petitioner but she could not write the sentence correctly. In spite of that, the Returning Officer accepted her nomination. In that Election Petition, the petitioner filed counter denying the allegations relating to she being not able to read and write Odia. Further she took a specific stand that she has passed Class-VII in Nilakantheswar Bidyapitha and thus she is an educated lady and she is having the knowledge of reading and writing.