The petitioner and 26 others including the 1st respondent herein contested from the Closebern constituency reserved for Scheduled Caste, of the Kadagadalu Gram Panchayath in the election held on 27.2.2005 whence the petitioner was declared elected having secured the highest number of votes while the 1st respondent secured the second highest number. The 1st respondent while calling in question the said declaration sought to be declared as the duly elected candidate, by filing Election Petition No.1/2005 before the Prl. Civil Judge (Jr.Dn.) Madikeri, invoking the provisions of the Karnataka panchayath Raj Act, 1993, for short the Act. The specific case of the election petitioner was that the declared candidate did not belong to Scheduled Caste and had, by furnishing a false caste certificate contested the election, though did belong to ‘Bharathiya Hindu Malayali’ caste, not a declared scheduled caste. That petition was opposed by the declared candidate arraigned as the 2nd respondent contending that being an unmarried woman belongs to “Pulayan” caste, a recognized scheduled caste, supported by a certificate dated 9.12.1997 Ex.R-1 issued by the Tahsildar of the Hosadurga of