IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA, CHANDIGARH C.W.P.No.14074 of 2008 Date of decision: 03.10.2008 Lakhwinder Singh and others ......Petitioner(s) Versus Punjab State Election Commission and others ...Respondent(s) CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SATISH KUMAR MITTAL HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASWANT SINGH Present: Mr. B.S. Baath, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. M.S. Sindhu, Addl.A.G, Punjab for respondents No.1 to 3. Mr. P.S. Hundal, Sr. Advocate with Mr. R.S. Sidhu, Advocate for respondents No.4 & 5. SATISH KUMAR MITTAL,J(ORAL) Petitioners, who are elected Panches of Village Gram Panchayat Dhandal, Block Kahnuwan, Tehsil and District Gurdaspur, have filed this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for setting aside the election of respondent No.4 as Sarpanch of the said Gram Panchayat. Reply on behalf of respondents No.2 & 3 has been filed in court today, which is taken on record. After arguing for some time, learned counsel for the petitioners, on instructions from the petitioners, states that in view of the disputed questions of facts raised in this writ petition and further in view of the decision of this Court in Baljit Singh v. State of Punjab and others (CWP No.13643 of 2008, decided on August 22, 2008), wherein it has been held that in view of Clause (b) of Article 243-O of the Constitution of India and Section 74 of the Punjab State Election Commission Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), election of Sarpanch is to be challenged by filing an election petition under Section 76 on the grounds mentioned in Section 89 of the Act, the petitioners may be permitted to withdraw this petition with liberty to avail the remedy of election petition. Counsel for the petitioners has further submitted that since the petitioners have filed this C.W.P.No.14074 of 2008 #2# writ petition within the prescribed limit of 45 days against the impugned order, as such, in view of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Danda Rajeshwari v. Bodavula Hanumayamma and Others, (1996) 6, SCC, 199, the petitioners may be granted three weeks time to file the election petition with direction to Election Tribunal to decide that petition on merits. Counsel for respondents No.4 & 5 have no objection if the election petition is filed by the petitioner within three weeks from today. In view of the above, this writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to the petitioners to file an election petition within three weeks under Section 76 read with Section 89 of the Act challenging the election of respondent No.4. In case the election petition is filed within three weeks from today, the Election Tribunal is directed to decide the same on merits expeditiously. ( SATISH KUMAR MITTAL ) JUDGE October 03, 2008 ( JASWANT SINGH ) manoj JUDGE