AMRIK SINGH Vs. CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this common judgment, we would dispose of above entitled two writ petitions, as common legal controversy arise for consideration in these petitions, on somewhat similar facts.

(2.) BOTH the petitioners namely Amrik Singh and Narinder Nath claim to be the social workers, who are involved in active politics in the State of Haryana. These petitioners being desirous of contesting the elections of Lok Sabha from Kurukshetra Parliamentary Constituency, decided to contest the election as independent candidates. According to these petitioners, they were harassed by the office of the Returning Officer-cum-Deputy Collector during the period 20th April, 2004 to 23rd April, 2004 and they were not permitted to submit their nomination papers. On 23rd April, 2004 when the petitioners went to the office of the Returning Officer, which was the last date for submission of nomination papers, all the persons present in the office told them that they were busy in accepting the nomination papers of Abhey Chautala son of the present Chief Minister Shri Om Parkash Chautala and, as such, the nomination papers though not rejected were also not accepted by the concerned authority. The petitioners wrote a letter and also faxed to the Chief Election Commission, Delhi in this regard and thereafter filed the present writ petition for direction to the respondents to accept the nomination papers of the petitioners.

(3.) DURING the course of arguments, learned counsel appearing for the respondents at the very commencement of the arguments raised a preliminary objection with regard to the very maintainability of the writ petition, on the ground that efficacious alternative remedy under the provisions of the Act was available to the petitioners. In support of this, they relied upon the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of N.P. Ponuswami v. The Returning Officer, Namakkal Constituency, Namakkal, Salem Distt. and others, AIR (39) 1952 Supreme Court 64 and Umesh Shivappa Ambi and others v. Angadi Shekara Basappa and others, AIR 1999 Supreme Court 1566.