SAMUNDAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD . Samundar Singh petitioner herein has filed the present revision petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India vide which he has made a prayer for quashment of the order dated 22.11.2000 passed by the Financial Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Government of Haryana, Development and Panchayat, Chandigarh and the order dated 2.11.2000 passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Rohtak by which the petitioner who was elected as Sarpanch has been removed from the post of Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat of village Ajaib, Tehsil Meham, District Rohtak. The petitioner has been removed from the post mainly on the ground that since he had more than two children after the cut-off date, therefore, he was disqualified to contest for the post of Sarpanch. When this revision petition came up for hearing before me today, a preliminary objection has been raised on behalf of respondent No. 3 that this revision petition deserves to be dismissed in limine as it is an abuse of the process of law, because the petitioner had earlier filed a writ petition No. 17033 of 2000 which was dismissed by a Division Bench of this Court on 30.1.2001.

(2.) I have heard Mr. R.S. Bains, learned Counsel for the petitioner, Ms. Geeta Mathuria, Assistant Advocate General, Haryana for respondents 1, 2 and 4 and Mr. Narinder Hooda, counsel for respondent No. 3 and with the assistance rendered by them have gone through the records.

(3.) I have considered the rival contentions raised by the counsel for the parties. It is not being disputed by the counsel for the petitioner that the impugned orders i.e. the subject-matter of the present revision were earlier challenged by the petitioner Samundar Singh by filing a writ petition No. 17033 of 2000. A reading of the aforesaid writ petition shows that the present petitioner Samundar Singh had made a prayer in that petition under Articles 226/277 of the Constitution that a writ in the nature of certiorari be issued and the impugned orders Annexures P-4 and P-8 (of that writ petition) be quashed. By order dated 2.11.2000, the petitioner was removed from the office of Sarpanch. He filed appeal before the State Government which was dismissed on 22.11.2000. It further appears that during the pendency of that writ petition, Samundar Singh filed a Civil Misc. 2382 of 2001 and made a prayer before the Bench for withdrawal of the writ petition in order to avail the alternative remedy available to him. Civil Misc. was allowed and the writ petition was dismissed with permission to seek the appropriate remedy available to the petitioner under the law. It will be proper for me to reproduce hereunder the order dated 30.1.2001 in order to appreciate the contentions raised by the counsel for the parties.