IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that prior dismissal of an election petition does not bar subsequent criminal applications unless new evidence is presented.

JUDGMENT :

Rakesh Thapliyal, J.

1. By the present Application, preferred under Section 482 CrPC, the applicant is challenging the order dated 21.09.2023, passed by the Judicial Magistrate, Jaspur, District Udham Singh Nagar, whereby Miscellaneous Criminal Application No. 106 of 2023, Balwant Singh Vs. Smt. Jasveer Kaur and others, preferred under Section 156(3) CrPC, was rejected. In addition to this, the applicant is also challenging the order dated 12.04.2024, passed by the IInd Additional Sessions Judge, Kashipur, District Udham Singh Nagar, dismissing the Criminal Revision of the applicant, bearing Criminal Revision No. 254 of 2023, whereby the Criminal Revision preferred by the present applicant against the order dated 21.09.2023, was also rejected.

2. Brief facts of the case are that the present applicant is the permanent resident of village Patampur of Tehsil Jaspur, District Udham Singh Nagar and is a voter of village Panchayat Patrampur. Respondent No. 2 herein is also the resident of the same village, who contested the election of village pradhan of village Panchayat Patrampur, which was held in the year 2019 and she was declared to be elected as “village pradhan”.

3. It is contended by the learned counsel for the applicant that as per the Rules, the candidate who wants to contest the election for the post of village pradhan, must possess the educational qualification of having passed 8th class. It is submitted that at the time of nomination for election of village pradhan, the respondent No. 2 submitted a transfer certificate of an institution namely, Morning Star Senior Secondary School, Patti District Tarantaran, Punjab, with regard to her educational qualification, wherein she has shown to be studying up till 31.03.2000.

4. The said transfer certificate mentioned that the respondent passed 8th class from the said Institution, the copy of transfer certificate is enclosed as Annexure 1 to the affidavit. In para 6 of the affidavit of the present C482 Application, it is contended that the applicant had strong doubt that respondent No. 2 have not passed 8th class and subsequently he gathered certain information under the Right to Information Act and then he came to know that the school, wherefrom the respondent No. 2 passed 8th class was not in existence. The RTI information is also enclosed as Annexure-2 and by the said certificate, the learned counsel for the applicant submits that the aforesaid information clearly establishes that respondent No. 2 never studied in Morning Star Senior Secondary School.

5. It is contended in para 8 of the affidavit of the present C482 Application that the applicant also preferred an Election Petition before the Prescribed Authority/Assistant Collector 1st Class/SDM, Jaspur, District Udham Singh Nagar with this contention that respondent No. 2 was not eligible to contest the election of village pradhan since she does not possess essential educational qualification of 8th class.

6. The Election Petition, preferred by the applicant was registered as Election Petition No. 07 of 2019, Balwant Singh Vs. Jasveer Kaur and Others and the Prescribed Authority dismissed the election petition by order dated 20.05.2023 with the conclusion that the burden of proof lies upon the applicant, which the applicant failed to prove it and at the time of filing of nomination, during election, the present applicant has not raised any objection regarding education certificate of respondent No. 2 and the election petition is barred by the doctrine of estoppel.

7. Subsequently, when the applicant could not succeed in the election petition, a complaint was made to the SHO, Jaspur as well as to SSP, Udham Singh Nagar for lodging of First Information Report and when no action was taken by these authorities, application under Section 156(3) of CrPC was moved by the applicant before the Judicial Magistrate, Jaspur, District Udham Singh Nagar, which was registered as Miscellaneous Criminal Case No. 106 of 2023 which was dis