OM PRAKASH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order will dispose of Civil Writ 2690 of 1971, Om Parkash v. State of haryana, Civil Writ 2563 of 1971; Udmi v. State of Haryana, and Civil Writ 2757 of 1971; Rai Singh Parmar v. State of Haryana, as common questions of law and fact are involved in all these petitions.

(2.) THE petitioners have challenged the elections to various Gram Panchayats held in July 1971 on the ground that some of the persons who were allowed to vote were not entitled to be voters as they were either minors or were registered as voters in two constituencies whereas they could vote only in one constituency. It is pleaded that this mater cannot be agitated in an election petition and, therefore, a petition under Art, 226 of the Constitution is the only remedy available to the petitioners. It is denied by the respondents in their written statements that persons whose names are mentioned in Annexure 'a' to each petition were not qualified to cast their votes at the election. Under Section 5 (3) of the Punjab Gram panchayat Act, 1952.

(3.) ACCORDING to these observations, the elections held on the basis of the Electoral roll in force at the time of the election cannot be challenged, and that is exactly what the petitioners are seeking to do in these petitions. Their Lordships of the supreme Court in Pampakavi Rayappa Belagali v. B. D. Jatti, AIR 1971 SC 1348, held (as per head note B)