BINOD KUMAR SINGH Vs. MD ILIYAS HUSSAIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this Election Petition the Petitioner had assailed the election of the Returned Candidate, Md. Illiyas Hussain, the respondent from 235, Dehri Assembly Constituency in the Election held in 1995 on the ground of improper counting of ballot papers and improper rejection of the Nomination Papers of Subhash Rai and Ramta Singh. The Petitioner, however, abandoned the challenge to the election of the Respondent on the ground of improper counting of ballot papers.

(2.) THE case of the petitioner is that besides him and the Respondent, 63 other candidates filed their Nomination Papers to contest the said Election and after scrutiny, the Returning Officer rejected the nomination papers of 14 candidates and accepted the Nomination Papers of rest of the candidates. Then 14 candidates withdrew their candidatures within the prescribed period and only 37 candidates were left to contest the Election. It is further pleaded that Subhash Rai and Ramta Singh had correctly filled in their Nomination Papers and the entries as regards their Proposers were also correct and the Returning Officer did not find any infirmity or any substantial error in the entries made in the said Nomination Papers filed by Subhash Rai and Ramta Singh but he arbitrarily rejected their Nomination Papers. The reason assigned by the Returning Officer for rejection of the Nomination Paper of Subhash Rai was that his name did not find mention in the Part No. of the Electoral List as mentioned by Subhash Rai in his Nomination Paper.

(3.) AS regards Ramta Singh it has been pleaded that the name of his Proposer is Suryadeo Singh, who was the voter and his name finds mention in the Electoral List in Part No. 104, Sl. No. 231 but the Returning Officer improperly rejected the Nomination Paper on a non existent reason that the name of Suryadeo Singh the Proposer of Ramta Singh does not find mention in Part No. 104, SI. No. 231 of the Electoral List. It was, therefore, prayed that the election of the respondent be declared as void.