A.N.Bhandari, J.

1. This petition under Article 227 of the Constitution raises the question whether an Election Tribunal is justified in declining to determine certain preliminary questions of law under the provisions of Order 14 Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure which if decided in favour of the party objecting would dispense with any further trial or at any rate with the trial of some substantial issue in the case.

2. Partap Singh Kairon, Chief Minister of the Punjab, was elected a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly from the Sarhali Constituency of the Amritsar District defeating his rival candidate S. Gurmej Singh by a majority of over 20,000 votes.

3. On 11-4-1957 S. Gurmej Singh presented an election petition in which he challenged the election of S. Partap Singh on a number of grounds, among others, being (1) that the nomination paper filed by one Santa Singh was improperly rejected by the Returning Officer, and (2) that S. Partap Singh had obtained the assistance of lambardars for the furtherance of the prospects of his election.

4. S. Partap Singh controverted those allegations and prayed that the election petition be rejected as the nomination paper of S