Court No. - 10

Case :- WRIT - C No. - 12932 of 2021

Petitioner :- Ranjana Yadav And Another

Respondent :- District Magistrate /Election Officer Distt Ballia And 3 Others

Counsel for Petitioner :- Baldev Shukla,Manoj Kumar Tiwari

Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.

Hon'ble Prakash Padia,J.

1. Matter is taken up through video conferencing.

2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned Standing Counsel for

the respondents.

3. The petitioners have preferred the present petition with the following

prayers:-

"I. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari to quash the select

list of the Indu/respondent no.4 selected on the post of Gram Pradhan of Gram

Panchayat Bhawarpur, Block Beruawari, Tehsil Bansdih, District Ballia in

Panchayat election 2021.

II. Issue any other writ, order or direction mandamus directed to respondents

authority to conduct fresh election on the post of Pradhan of the Gram

Panchayat Bhawarpur after examining papers of the contesting candidates."

4. A preliminary objection has been raised by the learned Standing Counsel for

the State respondents, learned counsel for respondent No.2 that this Hon'ble

Court has no jurisdiction to entertain the present writ petition and to interfere in

the election proceeding in view of specific bar being imposed by the

Constitution by means of Article 243-O (b) which provides that no election to

any Panchayats 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 law made by the Legislature of a State and as such writ petition be

dismissed.

5. In order to appreciate the arguments which have been advanced, Article 243-

O of the Constitution of India and Section 12C of U.P. Panchayat Raj Act 1947

are to be looked into:

Article 243-O of Constitution of India

"243-O- Bar to interference by Courts in election matters-

Notwithstanding any thing 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 Panchayats 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 law made by the Legislature of a

State.

Section 12 of U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947

Section 12C :- Application for questing the elections-

(l) The election of a person as Pradhan or as member of a [Gram

Panchayat] including the election of [a person appointed] as the

Panch of Nyaya Panchayat under Section 43 shall not be called in

question except by an application presented to such authority within

such time and in such manner as may be prescribed on the ground

that -

(a) the election has not been free election by reason that the corrupt

practice of briber/ or undue influence has extensively prevailed at the

election or

(b) that the result of the election has been materially affected-

(i) by the improper acceptance or rejection of any nomination or

(ii) by gross failure to comply with the provisions of this Act the rules

framed thereunder

(2) The following shall be deemed to be corrupt practices of bribery

undue influence for the purposes of this Act.

(A) Bribery that is to say, any gift, offer or promise by a candidate or

by any other person with the connivance of a candidate of a

gratification to any person with the connivance of a candidate of

gratification to any person whomsoever with the object directly

indirectly of including-

(a) a person to stand or not to stand as, or withdraw from being a

candidate at any election; or

(b) an elector to vote or refrain from voting at an election or as

reward to.

(i) a person for having so stood or not stood or have withdrawn his

candidature or

(ii) an elector for having voted or refrained from voting.