UMRAO SINGH Vs. MEHAR CHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenge to the election of Panches, respondents 3 to 7 to the writ petition, met with success with the learned single Judge despite a threshold objection to the maintainability of the writ petition in view of the unavailing of the alternative remedy by the petitioners by way of election petition before the prescribed authority under the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 (as adopted by the Haryana State vide Haryana Adaptation of Laws Order. 1968, read with Section 88 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1956), hereinafter referred to as the Act. The attack against the judgment of the learned single Judge in this Letters Patent Appeal is confined to this aspect only.

(2.) Before concretising the rival assertions and resolving them, a few relevant facts, directly bearing upon the contentions advanced on behalf of the appellants, deserve noticing at the very outset.

(3.) The Haryana Government constituted Nangal Sabha under Section 5 of the Act, vide notification dated 15-4-1977. In that notification, the strength of the executive committee of the Gram Sabha also known as Gram Panchayat, including the Panches and the Sarpanch, was fixed at 6-5 from the general quota and one from the reserved members of the scheduled castes. Sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the Act envisages election of a woman-Panch and where none is elected, then it provides for co-option of one woman-Panch.