The main legal point established in the judgment is the application of Section 25(1)(v) of the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act, 1964, which led to the disqualification of the petitioner from contesting the election as Sarpanch.

JUDGMENT :

M.M. Das, J. - The Petitioner and the opp. party No. 1 filed their nominations to contest the election to the office of Sarpanch of Chahapara Grama Panchayat. The nomination papers were scrutinized on 16.1.2007. At the time of scrutiny, the opp. party No. 1 challenged the validity of the nomination of the Petitioner on the ground that she had more than two children and her two of her children were born after the cut-ff date and, therefore, she was disqualified u/s 25(1)(v) of the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act, 1964 (for short, 'the Act') to contest the election to the office of Sarpanch. The Petitioner resisted the said objection on the ground that she had no third child and that the alleged third child Priyanka Priyadarshini was the daughter of Saroj and Tilottama, Saroj being the elder brother of the husband of the Petitioner. The nomination paper of the Petitioner was accepted and in the election held on 17.2.2007, the Petitioner was declared elected having polled the highest number of votes. The opp. party No. 1, thereafter, filed an election dispute, being Election Case No. 2 of 2007, to declare the election of the Petitioner void and further to declare her to be the elected Sarpanch.

The opp. party No. 1 also filed a Civil Suit seeking a relief of declaration that the order dated 8.5.2006 passed in Misc. Case No. 29 of 2006 u/s 13(3) of Births and Deaths Registration Act by the court of the Executive Magistrate, Mahanga as well as the entry at serial No. 573 dated 9.5.2006 of the Register of Birth and Death maintained at U.G., C.H.C. Mahanga based upon the said order as illegal and to declare that Priyanka Priyadarshini is the natural born daughter of the Petitioner and her husband Manoj @ Anoj Kumar Barik. The said Civil Suit was numbered as C.S. No. 33 of 2007.

2. Both the aforesaid proceedings were filed before the learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Salepur, Cuttack. The Petitioner appeared in both the said cases and filed her written statements denying the allegations made in the election petition as well as in the plaint. The Petitioner's case before the courts below was that she has got only one daughter, namely, Pragyan Pridarshini and one son, namely, Dibyaranjan Barik. Priyanka Priyadarshini is the natural daughter of one Saroj Kumar Barik and his wife Tilottama Barik. Hence, there was no reason to reject the nomination paper of the Petitioner. Her nomination paper being valid and she having polled highest number of valid votes, was rightly declared elected as the Sarpanch. The learned Civil Judge (Jr. Division), Salepur-cum-Election Tribunal clubbed the Election Case N. 2 of 2007 and the Civil Suit together recording one set of evidence and disposed of both the said proceedings by a common judgment dated 12.9.2008. Common issues were framed in both the proceedings. The learned Civil Judge came to a finding of fact that Priyanka Priyadarshini is not the daughter of Sarojbandhu and Tillottama and, on the contrary, she is the daughter of the Petitioner and her husband Anoja @ Manoj Kumar Barik. He also came to a finding of fact that the Petitioner's second and third child were born after the cut-off date and, hence, the Petitioner was disqualified from being elected as Sarpanch as per Section 25(1)(v) of the Act. Accordingly, the learned trial court decreed the Civil Suit declaring that the said daughter Priyanka Priyadarshini, who was the Defendant No. 5 in the suit to be the natural born daughter of the Defendant No. 3 (Petitioner) and her husband - Defendant No. 4 and further declared that the order dated 8.5.2006 passed in Misc. Case No. 29 of 2006 by the Executive Magistrate, Mahanga is void and illegal having no legal sanctity and so also serial No. 573 dated 9.5.2006 in the register maintained at U.G. C.H.C. Mahanga.

3. In the election petition, the learned trial court declared that the election of the present Petitioner as Sarpanch is illegal and void and since the election Petitioner was the only