NARENDRA NARAYAN DAS Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY virtue of order dated 20-12-2006 contained in Annexure-4, the State election Commissioner, while exercising power under Section 135 (1) of the Bihar panchayat Raj Act, 2006 (herein after referred to as the Aet)has disqualified the petitioner from the pest of Mukhiya, Ballour gram Panchayat in the District of darbhanga on the ground that the petitioner was a Nepali citizen and therefore, is not entitled to occupy the elected office under question. Petitioner wants the impugned order, therefore, to be set aside in the present writ application.

(2.) A complaint was filed by one Shri. Sunil Kumar Jha of Ballour Village on the ground that Shri. Narendra Narayan Das, the petitioner in the present writ application by making a false declaration had contested the election to the post of Mukhiya, even though, he is a resident of House No. 55 D. S. P. Road, Ward No. 3 of Viratnagar, nepal and is a Nepalese citizen having citizenship no. 1177/031/32. Based on the said complaint, case No. 47/2006 was instituted by the State Election Commission. After notice to the concerned parties, the matter finally came to be adjudicated upon vide order dated 20-10-2006. The Election commission after perusing various evidence including evidence which was supplied by the Nepalese authorities came to a conclusion that the petitioner was a Nepalese Citizen and therefore disqualified to hold the post of Mukhiya. He was accordingly ordered to be removed.

(3.) FIRST contention of learned Senior counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner is that it is open to the State Election commission to disqualify a person from the elected office unless a proper adjudication with regard to the citizenship of a person is made by the competent authority under the citizenship Act. This power according to him only vested in the Central Government and the same cannot be exercised by the State election Commission, even though, the power had been vested under Section 136 of the Act.