N. K. Sodhi, J. - Whether the election of a Sarpanch could be challenged through an election petition on a ground other than those specified in Section 176(4) of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) is the short question that arises for determination in these two writ petitions which were ordered to be heard together. When Civil Writ Petition No. 7300 of 1996 came up before the Motion Bench on 24-7-1996, it was admitted to be heard by a Full Bench presumably because the correctness of some of the observations made by a Division Bench of this Court in Smt. Guddi Devi v. State Election Commissioner, Haryana, 1995 Punj LJ 285 : (AIR 1995 Punjab and Har 101) on which reliance was placed by the trial Judge in setting aside the election of the petitioner were doubted. This is how the two petitions have been placed before us for disposal. Arguments were addressed by counsel in both the cases but for the sake of convenience facts are being taken from Civil Writ Petition No. 15310 of 1996.

2. Petitioner is a resident of village Sarsa Tehsil Pehowa, District Kurukshetra in the State of Haryana which has been declared a Sabha area and for which a G