PRITAM SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Civil Writ Petition Nos. 2575 and 257 of 1972 are being disposed of together by this judgment as they involve common questions of law and fact.

(2.) The polling for the election of six Panches and one Sarpanch for the Gram Sabha of village Fatuhiwala was to take place on 30.6.1972. The filing of the nomination papers and their scrutiny and withdrawal had to take place on the previous date. The petitioner in each case wanted to contest for one of these offices and had filed his nomination papers on due date. The Returning Officer, respondent No. 4, had, however, been supplied a copy of the electoral rolls in which the names of the petitioners had been deleted. Respondent No. 4, therefore, refused to entertain these nomination papers and returned them after making an endorsement in writing which was to the effect that the nomination papers were being returned as according to the voters' list supplied to him, the names of the petitioners were not included. Respondent No. 4 has, however, stated in his return that he had rejected the nomination papers on the above mentioned ground and this may appear to be borne out by the original nomination papers (Annexure 'A' to the petition).

(3.) The deletion of the petitioners' names in the copy of the voters list supplied to respondent No. 4 was apparently a mistake because the petitioners were allowed to cast their votes in the elections held according to programme the next day. Respondent No. 4 has explained in his return that on the morning of the date of poll, he had been supplied another copy of the voters list in which the petitioners' names had again been included along with some other voters. This supplementary list had been supplied to him by the Block Development and Panchayat Officer of the area. The petitioners have, therefore, filed these writ petitions to ventilate their just grievances over the wrongful return or rejection of their nomination papers. These petitions were, however, filed after the expiry of the limitation period of thirty days, prescribed for the filing of an election petition by Section 13-C(l) of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 .