The main legal point established is that in electoral matters, the remedy of filing an election petition before the appropriate Tribunal should be pursued, and legal rights crystallized in favor of the elected person cannot be disturbed.

JUDGMENT

A.B. Chaudhari, J. - The petitioner herein challenges the declaration of result dated 10.1.2016 (Annexure P-5), impugned order dated 10.1.2016 (Annexure P-6) and notification dated 10.2.2016 (Annexure P-12) in the matter of election for the post of Sarpanch of village Pathri, Block Israna, District Panipat.

2. The principle ground on which the present writ petition has been filed is that the procedure, required to be followed, when there are equal number of votes to the candidate winning the election and the rival petitioner, was not followed as laid down in the Act and the Rules. The averments of the petition itself indicates that the petitioner relied on the Full Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Prithvi Raj vs. State Election Commission, Punjab and others, 2007 (3) PLR 453 and some other judgments of this Court to buttress the contention that the writ petition would be maintainable rather than the election petition. According to the learned counsel for the petitioner, the High Court can bypass the self imposed rule not to entertain a writ petition in the extra ordinary writ jurisdiction when according to him, it is a glaring case that exists in favour of the petitioner as there is evidence in the form of videography and report of State Election Commissioner and District Election Officer.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner further contended that taking note of this judgment referred by him, this Court issued notice of motion and, thus, entertained the present writ petition. He then went on to submit that this Court also ordered production of video recording as well as the original slips from BDPO and the same were ordered to be kept in the custody of learned Additional Advocate General, Haryana and that the petitioner will see the video recording as well as the original slips. He firmly states that he did not file the election petition and chose to pursue the present writ petition. He also argued that Section 176(4)(a)(iii) of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Election Act, 1994 does not enable the petitioner to raise the ground regarding amendment of provisions of Act and the Rules in the subject matter of the present petition and therefore, this petition is required to be decided by this Court.

4. Per contra, the learned counsel for the respondents opposed the writ petition and submitted that in the contents of the petition, the petitioner is projecting all the disputed question of facts which can be decided only on evidence, further in the test of crossexamination. The correctness of the video recording or the original slips etc. cannot be found out by this Court without recording of evidence. There is further submission by the learned counsel for the respondents that Section 176 (4) (a) (iii) of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Election Act, as amended in 2001, provides for presentation of election petition and in the wake of the statutory remedy of election petition provided by law. The remedy of filing the writ petition in extra ordinary writ jurisdiction before this Court is not available and there is no reason why the writ petition should be entertained. According to the learned counsel for the private contesting respondent, after the amendment in 2001 in Haryana Panchayati Raj Election Act and Constitutional Panchayati Raj Amendment, the remedy by way of election petition is the only remedy that can be undertaken.

5. We have heard the learned counsel for the rival parties. Article 243-O of the Constitution of India read thus:-

Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters.-

Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,-

(a) the validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies, made or purporting to be made under article 243K, shall not be called in question in any court;

(b) no election to any Panchayat shall be called in question except by an election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as is provided for by or under any la