1 [PRECEDENT] 12/01/2015 Shri [ENTITY], Advocate for the petitioner. Shri [ENTITY], Deputy Government Advocate for the respondents/State.
This petition filed under [SECTION] of the [ACT] prays for the following reliefs:-
i) That the oral rejection of the nomination form of the petitioner on 1.1.2015 for election of Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat Khadihar, Tehsil Ambah, District Morena be set aside and the same be declared as void ab initio with further directions to the respondents No.1 and 2 to treat the petitioner as valid candidate and as per his nomination form, he be allowed to contest the ensuing election of Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat Khadihar, Tahsil Ambah, District Morena.
ii) That the respondents No.1 and 2 be further directed to take note of the conduct of the returning officers-
respondents No.3 to 6, who have committed fraud/cheating with the contesting candidate with oblique intention and such act of respondents No.3 to 6 deserves to be taken note of.
iii) That any other relief which is suitable in the facts and circumstances of the case in favour of the petitioner including the costs throughout may also be granted.
The principal grievance of the petitioner is that his nomination form for contesting election to the office of Sarpanch, Gram Panchayat Khadihar, Tehsil Ambah, District Morena has been rejected by an oral order without assigning any reason in express terms as mandated by the statutory provisions contained in the M.P. Panchayat Nirvachan Niyam, 1995 ("Rules of 1995" for brevity).
[PRECEDENT] Learned counsel for the respondents on the other hand informs that the polling to the election in question is scheduled for tomorrow and, therefore, it is too late in the day to seek interference in the election process in view of bar contains in [SECTION] of the [ACT].
True it is, that the statutory provisions under Rules of 1995 categorically obliges the competent authority to assign reasons in writing while rejecting the nomination form but the fact of the election process being underway cannot be ignored. The election process has reached the stage of polling which is scheduled for tomorrow.
No matter how good a case may be while assailing the rejection of nomination, the process of election once commenced and having reached upto a certain extent, ought not to be disrupted for various reasons. Election is the bedrock of the democratic system from which the entire Government derives strength. If the election are allowed to be interfered with at every stage, then the said process shall never be completed giving birth to anarchy.
The power of judicial review is nevertheless available to interfere in an ongoing process of election, notwithstanding the bar contained in [SECTION] of the [ACT] but for this purpose highly exceptional case will have to be made out as held in the [PRECEDENT] case of [PRECEDENT] that if the power of judicial review has not been exercised under [SECTION] of the [ACT] then failure of justice would occasion in as much as the election even if held shall not be an election in the eye of law and will merely be a farce.
Learned counsel for the petitioner placed reliance on the decisions of [PRECEDENT] and also on the decision under [PRECEDENT] reported in [PRECEDENT]. The law laid down by the abovesaid decisions are not applicable to the attending facts and circumstances of this case, and therefore, the said decisions are of no avail to the petitioner.
Moreover, the wrongful rejection of a nomination form is a valid ground available to challenge the ultimate result of election by way of election petition. Thus, the petitioner is not remedyless.
In view of above, no case for interference is made out and, accordingly the petition being sans merit is dismissed with no costs.
([ENTITY]) (ra) Judge