BUGLI DEVI Vs. ADDITIONAL CIVIL JUDGE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RESPONDENT No. 2 (hereinafter referred to as the election petitioner) filed an election petition under Section 176(4)(B) of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (for short, the Act), calling in question election of the petitioner (hereinafter referred to as the returned candidate) to the post of Sarpanch of Village Patti Kalyana, District Panipat, held on 16.3.2000.

(2.) THE petitioner had secured 1797 votes while respondent No. 2 secured 1772 votes, another candidate Smt. Nirmala Devi secured 82 votes and there were 144 rejected votes.

(3.) CASE of the returned candidate was that reduction of his votes was on account of counting of valid votes cast in his favour as rejected votes as such votes now had double marks. Since double marking was subsequent to original counting, recounting was not justified. Reliance is placed on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Jagannath Rao v. Rai Kishore, 1972 SC 447.