TARACHAND MAJHI Vs. LALIT PADHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ petition, the Petitioner challenged the order dated 31.8.2009 passed by learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), S. Rampur in Election Petition No. 5 of 2007 allowing the application filed by the opposite party for recounting of votes.

(2.) OPPOSITE party was the election Petitioner and Petitioner was opposite party in the aforesaid case. The Petitioner, opposite party and three others contested the election to the office of Sarpanch of Lingmarni Grama Panchayat, where opposite party was declared elected. Petitioner (present opposite party) filed the aforesaid case to declare the election of opposite party (present Petitioner) null and void and to declare that he had been elected as Sarpanch of the aforesaid G.P.

(3.) LEARNED Counsel appearing for the Petitioner submitted that there was no pleading in the election petition to recount the votes, as such, no issue was framed in respect thereof. Furthermore, no material was adduced during the evidence justifying recounting of votes. So, the learned court below ought not to have allowed the petition for recounting of votes. In support of his submission, he relied on the decision in the case of T.H. Musthaffa v. M.P. Varghese and Ors. : (1999) 8 SCC 692, where the Apex Court held that unless pleading contains necessary foundation for raising an appropriate issue, no amount of evidence will be sufficient for raising the issue and granting the relief sought for.