BHUPENDRA KUMAR BOSE Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution for a declaration that the Orissa Municipal Elections Validation Ordinance 1959 (Orissa Ordinance No 1 of 1959) (hereinafter referred to as the Ordinance) is void and inoperative in its application to Cuttack Municipality and for a permanent injunction restraining the State of Orissa (opposite party No. 1) from enforcing the Ordinance and restraining opposite parties Nos. 2 to 28 from exercising their functions as Councillors, Chairman and Vice-Chairman as the case may be, of Cuttack Municipality.

(2.) The elections to Cuttack Municipality took place during the period from December, 1957 to March, 1958 and opposite parties 2 to 28 were duly declared elected as Municipal Councillors. Opposite party No. 3 Sri Manmohan Misra was elected Chairman and opposite party No. 15, Sri Mahendra Kumar Sahu was elected Vice Chairman of the said Municipality. The petitioner Sri Bhupendra Kumar Boss who was one of the defeated candidates, challenged the validity of the elections before this Court in O. J. C. No. 72 of 1958. A Division Bench of this Court by its judgment dated 11-12-1958 declared the elections to be invalid and issued a direction to the State of Orissa and to the District Magistrate of Cuttack to hold fresh elections to the Municipality according to law. A further direction was issued to the elected Municipal Councillors restraining them from functioning as Councillors on the basis of the said elections. Neither the State of Orissa nor the other members of the opposite party challenged the judgment by way of an appeal to the Supreme Court. Consequently, the judgment became conclusive and was given effect to in due course and the District Magistrate of Cuttack took over the administration of the Municipality as an interim arrangement.

(3.) It will be useful at this stage to briefly summarise the reasons for which the Division Bench held the elections to be invalid, in O. J. C. No. 72 of 1958. They are as follows: