MOZZAMMEL HAQ Vs. GOVERNMENT OF BANGLADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal by special leave arises from the judgment of a Division Bench of the High Court passed in Writ Petition No. 18 of 1977 summarily rejecting the appellant's petition wherein he impugned the orders of the respondent Nos. 2 and 3 ejecting his nomination paper and prayed for directing respondent No. 2 to make delimitation of the wards as per notification issued on November 30, 1976 and also for holding fresh election.

(2.) The appellant's case is that he, being a voter of Union Char Gazi, submitted nomination paper, for membership duly proposed and seconded by two voters of ward No. 1 describing ward No. 2 in place of old ward No. 1 in the belief that the number of ward changed from ward No. 1 to ward No. 2, according to the gazelle notification published on December 9, 1976. According to this notification which was issued on November 30, 1976, two areas namely (1) South Toomchar and (2) Southern portion of Char Afzal up to Rashidia Road of Union Parishad No. 10 Char Ramiza were included in the Union Parishad No. 12 of Char Gazi of P. S. Ramgati, Noakhali. The notification is as follows:- OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER NOAKHALI (L.G.R.D. Section) NOTIFICATION

(3.) On December 14, 1976 one Ahmed Miah, ex-Chairman of Char Gazi Union had, in consultation with seventeen other members including the appellants, applied to the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Noakhali, for re-arranging the wards of union No. 12 after including the aforesaid areas. Further, it was suggested that the old wards should be re-constituted by treating the aforesaid areas as ward No. 1 of Char Gazi union and all the remaining wards and old ward Nos. 2 and 3 should be re-arranged as ward No. 3 of old ward No. 1 should be re-arranged as ward No. 2. In spite of this application which was forwarded to the respondent No. 2 on December 15, 1976, he fixed December 18, 1976, as the last date of submission of nomination papers. The nomination papers of all the seventeen persons including the appellant were rejected by respondent No. 3 after scrutiny on December 20, 1976, the ground being that his nomination paper like theirs bore the wrong number of word. The appellants as well as the other candidates for membership and two candidates for the post of the Chairman in the union of whose nomination paper were also rejected on the same ground filed appeals before respondent No. 2. All the appeals excepting that of Ahmed Miah, a candidate for Chairmanship was dismissed. Being aggrieved, the appellant moved the aforesaid writ petition which was summarily rejected on the ground, among others, that in the absence of proper delimitation, the two Mouzas mentioned in the notification could not be adjusted with the existing wards and, therefore, the appellants nomination paper was rightly rejected by respondent No. 3. This Court granted leave to consider that when the Returning Officer had no difficulty as to the identity of the appellant or his proposer and second, the defect as to number of ward, if any, ought to have been allowed to be remedied, as has been provided in proviso (ii) of sub-rule (3) of Rule 16 of the Union Parishad (Election) Rules, 1976.