JUDGMENT :

A.S. Naidu, J. - The petitioner was elected as the Sarpanch of Alando Grama Panchayat in the district of Jagatsinghpur in the election held in 2002. Opposite party No. 1 who was also contesting for the post of the said Sarpanch in the election challenged the election of the petitioner u/s 31 of the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act before the Civil Judge (Junior Division), Jagatsinghpur, the Election Tribunal which was registered as Election Misc. Case No. 25 of 2002. The sole ground on which opposite party No. 1 prayed to set aside the election of the petitioner as Sarpanch was that the petitioner having not attained the age of twenty one years, as mandatorily required u/s 11 of the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act, was not eligible to contest the election. According to opposite party No. 1, the date of birth of the petitioner, as appears from her High School Certificate issued by the Board of Secondary Education, Orissa was 15.12.1982' and as such on the date fixed for filing the nomination for election, her age was nineteen years, one month and two days.

2. The contentions raised in the Election Misc. Case were strongly repudiated by the present petitioner in her objection stating i