JAGAT RAM ARYAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition made by Shri Jagat Ram Aryan, a resident of village Matta, Tehsil Kishtwar, District Doda, under Art. 32 2A of the Constitution of India as applied to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and S. 103 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir for issue of a writ of mandamus holding Ordinance No. 1 of 1957 as ultra vires of the Constitution and, therefore, void and requiring respondent No. 2 to postpone the date for holding elections till the final electoral rolls of Doda District are published and thus enabling the petitioner to contest the elections to the legislative Assembly in the State from a constituency to other parts of the State. The petitioner submits in his petition that he is a permanent resident of the State and as such has a right to be enrolled as an elector in in the electoral rolls of Tehsil Kishtwar in Doda District under Rule 11 of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Rules 2008 and possesses a right to contest elections from any constituency in any part of the State under S. 51 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and under S. 22 of the Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957; that the respondent published final electoral rolls of all the constituencies in the State except the Doda District and Leh and Kargil Tehsils and the respondent No.2 under Notification dated 22 -2 -1957 published in the Extraordinary Government Gazette of the date appointed 1 -3 -1957 as the last date for filling nomination papers, 4th March for scrutiny and 25th March for holding elections in Jammu province excluding Doda District and 30th March for holding elections in the Kashmir province; that since the electoral rolls of Doda District and Leh and Kargil Tehsils have not been finally scrutinised and published the petitioner, a resident of village Matta in Doda District, has not been finally declared as an elector so far, and thus is being deprived of his right to contest the e1ection to the State Legislative Assembly from Jammu Tehsil Double Member Constituency; that the Sadar -i -Riyasat issued Ordinance No. 1 of 1957 by which the petitioner has illegally been deprived from contesting elections from the reserved constituency in Jammu Province reserved for scheduled castes and as such the Ordinance is violative of his fundamental rights guaranteed under Art.14 of the Constitution of India and S. 49 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.

(2.) IT is, therefore, prayed that Ordinance No. 1 of 1957 be declared ultra vires and the elections be postponed to such date as the final electoral rolls of Kishtwar constituency in Doda District are finalised.

(3.) THE learned Advocate appearing In support of the petition contends before us that there had been an infringement of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the petitioner under Art. 14 of the Constitution of India. It is argued that by promulgation of Ordinance No. 1 of 1957 by the Sadar -i -Riyasat the petitioner, who has not been so far enrolled as an elector in his constituency in Doda District, is unable to stand as a candidate from any other constituency in Jammu Province reserved for the scheduled castes. This was, according to him, a clear discriminatory legislation and, therefore, contravened the provisions of Art. 14 of the Constitution of India.