( 1 ) BY this application under Article 226 of the Constitution the petitioner seeks a writ of certiorari for quashing an order dated 22nd November 1964 of the returning Officer, Block Lalbarra, rejecting his nomination paper for election as a panch to the Gram Panchayat from ward No. 4 of village Atri. The petitioner also seeks a direction commanding the Returning Officer to declare him as having been duly elected from the ward unopposed.

( 2 ) THE material facts are that for the election of only one person as a Panch from the ward the petitioner and the respondent No. 3 Makhan filed their nomination papers. The applicant's nomination paper was filed before the Returning Officer on 19th November 1964 and the non-applicant No. 3 Makhan filed his nomination paper on 20th November 1964. The petitioner's name was proposed by one nanho. But that same person also subscribed as proposer the nomination paper relating to the non-applicant No. 3. At the time of the scrutiny of the nomination papers the applicant, relying on Rule 24 (2) of the Madhya Pradesh Gram panchayats Election and Co. option Rules, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as the rules), raised the objection that the