JAGAT RAM ARYAN Vs. ELECTION COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ADVOCATES Appeared : Advocate For Appellant : <ADV>T.R.Bhasin,Ram Nath Bhalgotra,Jaswant Singh</ADV> This writ petition has arisen out of the following circumstances.

(2.) THE petitioner, Jagat Ram Aryan, who has described himself as a resident of Mata and a duly qualified voter has submitted that the final electoral rolls of all the constituencies of the State excepting those for Doda district, Leh and Kargil Tehsils have been published by the respondent, Election Commissioner, Jammu and Kashmir. According to S. 22 of the Peoples Representation Act the petitioner avers that a duly qualified voter has got a right to stand for election from any constituency in the State, but submits the petitioner that since the electoral rolls of Doda district have not yet been published, he will thereby be deprived of the right of standing for election from a constituency for which electoral rolls have been prepared and finally published. He therefore prays that a writ of Mandamus against the respondent, Election Commissioner, be issued, requiring him to postpone the elections till such date as the final electoral rolls of the Kishtwar constituency in the district Doda are not published.

(3.) THE petition came up for hearing before one of us on 26 -2 -1957. In the middle of the argument an Ordinance amending S. 22 of the Peoples Representation Act was produced by the learned Advocate -General in support of his argument that the petitioner had no right like the one he claims in his petition. This Ordinance was promulgated on 25 -2 -1957, as becomes evident from the date of the Gazette in which it is published. The petitioners learned counsel submitted that this Ordinance is ultra vires of the provisions of the Indian Constitution as applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. In view of the importance of the point involved, the matter was referred to the Full Bench of this Court for decision.