S.S. Satheesachandran, J.

The respondent in an election petition, whose election as a member to the District Panchayat is under challenge, has filed this transfer appeal against the order of the learned Single Judge turning down his request for transfer of the election petition to a different court imputing bias against the Presiding Officer trying the election petition.

2. Parties, for the sake of convenience, are referred to as shown in the present appeal, the returned candidate as the ‘appellant’ and the petitioner in the election petition as the ‘1st respondent’.

3. Short facts necessary for disposal of this appeal, leaving aside the rival case canvassed by the parties in the proceedings of the election petition now pending for consideration, may be summed up thus: The court below has passed a number of adverse orders against the appellant flouting and overlooking the statutory provisions in the trial of the election petition, and therefore the appellant has reasonable apprehension that he will not get a ‘fair trial’ from that court. In the course of the trial of the election petition, more particularly, when the evidence of the 1st respondent was in progress, an app