ASHIQ HASAN KHAN Vs. SUB DIVISIONAL OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals, which have been heard together, arise out or a judgment in M. J. C. Nos. 1338 and 1371 of 1962. Appellants Haro Mahton, Mathura Singh, Ramji Mahton, Bankey Mahton, Siasaran Prasad and Kailash Mahton were petitioners in M. J. C. No. 1338 of 1962 and Ashiq Hasan Khan was petitioner in M. J. C. No. 1371 of 1962. The appellants in L. P. A. No. 40 of 1963 claim to be Punch member of the Executive Committee and voters, respectively, of the Gobai Gram Panchayat in the district of Monghyr. Appellant Ashiq Hasan Khan of L. P. A. No. 89 of 1963 claims to be the Mukhiya of the same Gram Panchayat. The election of new office-bearers of this Gram Panchayat was held on the 16th and 17th of October, 1962, respectively, in which respondents Gangasaran Singh and Shahabuddin Khan were elected as Mukhia and Sarpanch, respectively. The Punches and members of the Executive Committee alto have been arrayed as respondents to the appeal. The appellants challenged the legality of the election in which the respondents were declared elected as new office bearers, mainly, on the ground that Shri Ramadhar Sharma, the Block Development Officer of Sheikhpura (respondent No. 2), who acted as the Elections Officer and supervised the elections of the Gram Panchayat, was not competent to act in that capacity. It was alleged that he was appointed to act as the Elections Officer by the Sub-divisional Officer, Sadar, Monghyr, within whose jurisdiction this Gram Panchayat falls, under Rule 2(g) of the Bihar Panchayat Election Rules, 1959. Hence, the elections held by him were illegal, void and without jurisdiction. It may be stated that, apart from M. J. C. Nos. 1338 and 1371 of 1962, there was yet another petition bearing M. J. C. No. 1337 of 1962 filed by one Ramadhar Singh.

(2.) Kamla Sahai, J. heard the three applications and dismissed them holding that Shri Ramadhar Sarma, Block-Development Officer, Sheikhpura, was duly authorised by the Sub-divisional Officer, Sadar, Monghyr, in terms of Rule 2(g) of the Bihar Panchayat Election Rules referred to above, and as such there was no illegality of any kind in his capacity to act as the Elections Officer. The two appeals, as I have already stated, arise out of these two applications.

(3.) Mr. B.C. Ghose, who appears in support of the appeals, has reiterated the argument which he advanced before the learned single Judge and has urged that the judgment of the learned Single Judge is erroneous, in that, he did not interpret correctly Rule 2(g) of the Bihar Panchayat Election Rules in terms of which Shri Ramadhar Sharma was authorised to act as the Elections Officer. Before I proceed to deal with this argument in detail, I may set out here Rule 2(g) on the proper interpretation of which depends the worth of the argument of the learned Counsel. That rule runs thus: