BUDH SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India with a prayer that the election to Gram Panchayat, Wehra, district Patiala be quashed as a whole.

(2.) The facts given in the petition are that the Deputy Commissioner, Patiala issued election programme for the election of Sarpanch and Panches of the Gram Panchayat, Wehra (hereinafter referred to as the Panchayat) and fixed June 25, 1972 for filing nomination papers and June 26, 1972 for elections. The petitioner and respondent No. 4 contested the election for Sarpanch. The petitioner obtained 155 votes and the respondent No. 4, 157 and thus he was declared elected by majority of 2 votes. Under the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and the Punjab Gram Panchayat Election Rules, 1960 , (hereinafter referred to as the Rules), there is no provision for the preparation and revision of separate electoral rolls of the Gram Sabha area for election of Sarpanch and Panches. Rule 2(e) of the Rules defines the word 'elector' which means a person who is entered in the electoral roll for the State Legislative Assembly, in force for the time being, in relation to the Sabha area concerned. Apart from that there is no provision either in the Act or in the Rules for preparation of revised electoral rolls. The electoral rolls for the election of the Panchayat were prepared by copying verbatim from the Legislative Assembly Rolls. No opportunity was given to the petitioner or other interested persons to scrutinise whether the persons enrolled as electors possessed the requisite qualifications or not. 39 additional votes pertaining to the said village were arbitrarily prepared and sent by the District Development and Panchayat Officer, respondent No. 10, to the Presiding Officer of the aforesaid election on the date of polling. They numbered from 1519 to 1547. No opportunity was afforded to the petitioner or anybody else to file objections to the inclusion of the aforesaid votes. There were some minor persons who were enlisted in the electoral rolls. The names of some dead persons were also mentioned in the electoral rolls. They had died before the date of the publication of the election programme, yet their names remained on the list. As the electoral rolls had been prepared arbitrarily and in an illegal manner, therefore, the whole election was a nullity and was liable to be quashed. Siri Ram son of Des Raj, Krishna Devi wife of Siri Ram, Gurdit Singh son of Mumsa Singh, Jaswant Lal son of Gurdit Singh and Khariati Lal son of Ram Lubhaya Singh were the voters for the election of Sarpanch and Panches of village Wehra. They were also voters in the Voters List for the Municipal Committee of Dehra Bassi town, which is at a distance of about five miles from there. They had exercised their votes on June 18, 1972 in the election of the Municipal Committee, Dehra Bassi and they again polled their votes on June 26, 1972 for election of Sarpanch and Panches of the Panchayat. Dehra Bassi town and Wehra village are in the same Assembly Constituency known as Banur Constituency. Legally no one can be a voter at two places in the same Constituency. On the aforesaid grounds, the petitioner has challenged the election of the Panchayat.

(3.) Shri Gurdarshan Singh, Director of Panchayats, Punjab has filed an affidavit contesting the aforesaid writ petition. He has stated that elections to the Panchayat were held on the basis of State Legislative Assembly Rolls. They were revised by the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab under Sections 22 and 23 of the Representation of People Act, 1950 (hereinafter referred to as the 1950 Act). A press note was issued on May 17/18, 1972 by the Development and Panchayat Department regarding the inclusion of new names of voters and correction of entries in the State Legislative Assembly Electoral Rolls. Public was advised to inspect the relevant electoral rolls at District Election Offices and offices of the Block Development and Panchayat Officers in the State and to file application in form Nos. 6, 8, 8A and 8B whichever was appropriate, with the Electoral Registration Officer of the Assembly Constituencies for getting any correction made in the electoral rolls. If the petitioner had any objection to the inclusion of any of the persons now objected to by him, he could do so before the appropriate authority. A return has also been filed by Shri Gurdev Singh Gill, Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, respondent No. 3, who has also taken same pleas as have been taken by the Director of Panchayats, Punjab. Nihal Singh, respondent No. 4, the elected Sarpanch has also contested the writ petition by a separate return. He has denied the allegations of the petitioner. He has also denied that Siri Ram etc. (five in number) exercised their right of franchise in the election of the Municipal Committee at Dehra Bassi town.