A party may be estopped from challenging the validity of proceedings by his conduct in taking part in those proceedings without objection.

1. Elections to the Municipal Committee, Haryana, in the district of Hoshiarpur, took place on June 18, 1972, and the first meeting of the elected members of the Committee was held on July 8, 1972, for the administration of oath and for the co-option of two women members and one member of the Scheduled Castes. Proposals were invited for co-option of two woman members under the provisions of Section 12-B of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, as amended, hearinafter called the Act, and thereafter voting was held by secret ballot. All the members were supplied two ballot papers each on which the names of all the four contesting candidates were written. The result of the polling was that three of the candidates got four votes each and the fourth candidate got three votes. Three ballot papers were rejected. The convener of the meeting was of the opinion that the members of the Committee having not been able to co-opt two women members and,therefore reported to the Government for nomination of two women members under Sec.12-E of the Act. The Government nominated Smt. Sohan Kaur and Smt. Harbans Kaur as member of the Municipal Committee, Haryana, by a notification which appeared in the Punjab Government Gazette dated July 28, 1972. Thereafter, a meeting of the Committee was held on August 4, 1972, for the election of President and Vice-Prsident. In that meeting, the two women candidates nominated by the Government were administered oath of allegiance and thereafter the elections for the offices of the President and Vice-President were held. Ramesh, respondent No. 1, contested the election for the office of the President against Ram Nath appellant but got defeated. He then filed Civil Writ No. 2687 of 1972 in this Court challenging the co-option of the two women members and the consequent election of the President and the Vice-President. That petition was contested by Ram Nath on various grounds but was accepted by the learned Single Judge on October 10, 1972. The present appeal under clause X of the Letters Patent is directed against that judgment.

2. One of the points argued before the learned Single Judge was that the method adopted by the Convener of the meeting on July 8, 1972, for the co-option of two women members under the provisions of Sec. 12-B of the Act by distributing two ballot papers containing the names of all the four candidates to the members for casting their votes instead of one ballot paper containing the names of all the contesting candidates, was illegal being against the rules. The learned Single Judge accepted this contention in view of his judgment in Civil Writ No. 2734 of 1972, (Narinder Kumar V/s. State of Punjab), decided on 18-9-1972 wherein a similar procedure had been adopted by the Convener which was declared illegal by him. He consequently declared the co-option of respondents Nos. 4 and 5 to the appeal, nominated by the Government, as illegal. He also accepted the plea that the election of the President and the vice-President held on August 4, 1972, was illegal as repondents Nos. 4 and 5, who were not entitled to attend that meeting, attended that meeting and cast their votes. In view of his own judgment in Ram Niwas V/s. State of Punjab, Civil Writ No. 2674 of 1972, decided on 3-10-1972 (Punj). The learned Judge did not accept the plea of the appellant that the writ petitioner, after the co-option of the two women members by the Government under Section 12-B of the Act, took part in the election of the President and, therefore, was estopped from filing the writ petition. Consequently, the writ petition was accepted and the co-option of respondents Nos. 4 and 5 and the elections of the President and Vice-President were quashed.

3. It has been argued by the learned counsel for the appellant that the learned Single Judge erred in law in not accepting his plea that the writ petitioner was estopped from challenging the co-option of the two members, respondent Nos. 4 and 5, and the elections of the