LAWS(P&H)-2006-7-143

LILLU RAM Vs. ADDITIONAL CIVIL JUDGE SR DIVISION

Decided On July 25, 2006
LILLU RAM Appellant
V/S
ADDITIONAL CIVIL JUDGE (SR. DIVISION) GURGAON Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Lillu Ram, petitioner, has brought this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus, certiorari or any other suitable writ, order or direction, quashing impugned order dated 2.1.2006 (Annexure P/6) passed in Election Petition No. 18 of 2.5.2005, whereby, learned Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division), Gurgaon has directed the scrutiny and recounting of valid votes polled for the post of Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat, Village Nathupur, District Gurgaon.

(2.) Brief facts culminating to the commencement of this writ petition may be recapitulated thus : Smt. Shiela, respondent No.2 (hereinafter referred to as "the respondent") filed a petition under Section 176 of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") with the averments that she had contested the election for the post of Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat, Village Nathupur, Tehsil and District Gurgaon, held on April 9, 2005. She was one of the 8 candidates, including Lillu Ram, the present petitioner,(hereinafter referred to as "the writ petitioner"), who had also contested the election. Lillu Ram was declared elected having secured 973 votes, whereas, the respondent was declared to have secured 971 votes. In this way, there was a margin of only two votes between the two.

(3.) The respondent has challenged this election for the post of Sarpanch held on 9.4.2005 on the grounds that the same was conducted against the provisions of the Act. According to her, the said election was held in Government Primary School, Nathupur. The doors of the said polling station were closed at 3.45 PM, while the polling time was upto 4.00 p.m. and before the polling time was over, the ballot boxes were carried out, at the instance of the Returning Officer and the then Sub Divisional Magistrate, Gurgaon and the same were placed in a bus parked behind the polling station from where, they were transferred to John Hall, Gurgaon. Thereafter, the respondent and her agent were prevented from entering the said Hall at the time of counting of votes by the Returning officer and the then SDM, Gurgaon, whereas, the writ petitioner and his agent were allowed to enter the John Hall. In this way, the counting of votes was done in the absence of the respondent and her agent. Ultimately, the writ petitioner was illegally declared as elected by a margin of only two votes. Further, it was also the case of the respondent before the Court below that bogus votes were also manufactured in favour of the writ petitioner and that there was also improper rejection of the valid votes and improper acceptance of invalid and bogus votes, which had affected the result of the election. Ultimately, the result was announced on the basis of wrong and illegal counting of votes. It was then also claimed that the number of total votes polled in the presence of agent of the respondent, at the polling booth in Village Nathupur, was 2925, whereas, in the record, a total number of 2896 votes were shown to have been cast. On the same day, the respondent had moved an application to the District Collector with a request for re-counting of the votes, but the same was not accepted.