Dixit,J.

1. This Special civil application raises an important question under Section 82 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the question arises in this way.

2. An election to the Bombay Legislative Assembly from an Assembly Constituency known as the Karad North Assembly Constituency was to be held on 2-5-1957. Before 29-1-1957 five candidates including the present petitioner and the second respondent had filed their nomination papers and 29-1-1957 was the last date for filing nominations. All these nominations were scrutinized and accepted by the Returning Officer as valid nominations on 1-2-1957. It appears that one of the five candidates withdrew his candidature before the date fixed for withdrawal and then the Returning Officer published a list of contesting candidates under Section 38 of the Representation of the People Act. There is HO dispute that that list included the names of the petitioner, the second respondent and two other candidates viz., Mahomed Abdulla Awate and Ali Suleman Mulla. Mahomed Abdulla Awate and Ali Suleman Mulla, however, retired from the contest on or about 15-2-1957 and this was in accordance with Section 55A of the Act. They gave