SHASHI BALA Vs. STATE OF H P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners in these cases are aggrieved since their names are not included in the final voters list and their objections with regard to inclusion of the names of some of the voters in the revised voters list for election to the Municipal Council Dalhousie, have not been considered by the Revising Authority. According to the petitioners, they had submitted their appeals aggrieved by the order passed by the Sub Divisional Magistrate, before the Deputy Commissioner. But, it is seen that the Deputy Commissioner has dismissed all those appeals on the ground that the appeals are time barred. According to the petitioners, though the order impugned before the Deputy Commissioner is dated 8th November, 2010, they were supplied with the copy of the same only on 9th /10th November, 2010 and within three days, they had filed the appeals. Rules 11, 14 & 15 of the H.P. Municipal Election Rules, 1994 deals with the procedure in that regard, which read as follows:

(2.) ACCORDING to the learned Advocate General and Sh. Onkar Jairath, learned counsel appearing for the H.P. State Election Commission, the time provided under Rule 11(3), being three days, an appeal cannot be entertained beyond three days. We find it difficult to comprehend the submission since the petitioner in each case was supplied with the copy only after two days of passing the order. If the argument as such is appreciated, the Revising Authority can very well defeat the purpose of the statute by delaying the supply of the copy by three days, and since the appeal will not be entertained without the impugned order.

(3.) ALL the petitions stand disposed of, so also the pending application(s), if any.