GOPI CHAND Vs. DISTRICT JUDGE, BIKANER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this writ petition, the petitioner (respondent before the Election Tribunal) has approached this Court for challenging the order dated 12.10.2017 allegedly passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge No. b3, Bikaner in Election Petition preferred by the private respondents.

(2.) At the outset, this Court is constrained to note that despite the requirement of law that an election petition should be decided expeditiously so as not to frustrate the challenge given to the election of a candidate for a fixed term and despite the unambiguous position of law regarding the scope to entertain challenge to such election petitions, the present matter is being lingered on at the initial stage with almost 8 rounds of litigation having been entertained in this Court previous to the present writ petition. The following matters have filed in this Court in relation to the present dispute: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_153_LAWS(RAJ)4_2018_1.html</FRM>

(3.) Section 43 of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 clearly mandates that the election petition shall be presented before the District and Sessions Judge who may, for reasons to be recorded, transfer the same for trial to a Civil Judge. In the case at hand, indisputably, the election petition was presented before the District Judge, Bikaner and inspite of the unambiguous legal position, the election petition was wrongly transferred to the Court of ACJM No. 3, Bikaner which is manifestly a Criminal Court and has no jurisdiction to try the election petition. Be that as it may. The said order of transfer was challenged before this Court and the controversy appears to have been put to a rest with the order dated 12.07.2017 passed in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 14351/2016 whereby, the District Judge, Bikaner was directed to transfer the election petition to the appropriate court in conformity with the provisions of Section 43 of the Panchayati Raj Act. Pursuant to such order being passed, the impugned order was passed on 12.10.2017 by the learned District Judge whereby, the election petition was transferred to the Court of the Additional Civil Judge (Sr. Division) No. 3, Bikaner for trial. The petitioner has challenged the said order on the pretext that the officer, who passed the order was in the rank of Additional District Judge and was simply holding temporary charge of the court of District Judge and thus, he is a persona designata in consonance with Section 43 of the Panchayati Raj Act and hence, the order under challenge is bad in eye of law.