BADO SAO Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for setting aside the entire election of Pratappur Gram Fan-chayat, Halsi Block in the district of Monghyr.

(2.) The aforesaid Gram Pancha-yat was established in 1954 vide Notification No. P/EI-1032/54-2203 G. P. dated the 25th of March 1954 published in the Bihar Gazette on the 26th of May, 1954. A copy of this notification is Annexure 2 of the reply to the counteraffidavit filed by the petitioners. Now according to this notification Pratappur Gram Panchayat constituted of four villages viz. Pratappur, Kamaitha, Lahuara, and Khuriari. There are forty-three petitioners in this present writ petition and petitioners 1 to 18 are residents of village Khuriari and the remaining petitioners that is Nos. 19 to 43 are residents of village Lahuara. According to these petitioners they were also entitled to vote in the election of the Gram Panchayat and the number of voters in village Lahuara was 319 and in village Khuriari was 531. The opposite parties in the case are those who have been elected and also those who are the sitting office holders of the Gram Panchayat

(3.) The contention of the petitioners is that on 20-4-1970 which was the date fixed for polling when these petitioners wanted to vote, then they were not allowed to do so, as it was said that these two villages, viz Khuriari and Lahuara are not parts of this Gram Panchayat and have been excluded from this Gram Panchayat. The petitioners were thus denied the right to exercise their franchise and in such circumstance, the entire election should be set aside because there was no such notification excluding these two villages and even if there was any notification the notification is bad because of the non-compliance of the relevant provisions of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act 1947 (Bihar Act XXI of 1959). It may be also mentioned here that there are other points also which have been raised in the petition concerning the election, but those points have not been pressed and the main ground of attack is that there was a denial of the right to vote to the petitioners.