IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P. No. 15534 of 2008 DATE OF DECISION: SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 Kala Ram .....PETITIONER Versus The State of Punjab and others ....RESPONDENTS CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE SATISH KUMAR MITTAL HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASWANT SINGH --- Present: Mr. Arun Abrol, Advocate, for the petitioner. .. SATISH KUMAR MITTAL, J. (Oral) The petitioner, who was elected as Panch from the reserved category of Scheduled Caste, has filed this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for setting aside the election of respondent No.5, who has been elected as Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat of Village Chak Narainan. Undisputedly, the office of Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat is reserved for the Scheduled Caste category and respondent No.5, who has been elected as Sarpanch is a Scheduled Caste woman, though she was elected as a Panch from the category of General Woman. It is also not disputed that the petitioner had contested the election of Sarpanch, but she has been defeated and respondent No.5 has been declared elected. Counsel for the petitioner has raised the sole point that respondent No.5 was not C.W.P. No. 15534 of 2008 -2- eligible to contest the election of Sarpanch because she was elected as a Panch from the category of General Woman. This issue has already been decided by this Court in Parmjit Singh v. State of Punjab and others, CWP No.14927 of 2008, decided on August 26, 2008, wherein it has been held that any Scheduled Caste candidate whether Man or Woman, who has been elected as a Panch from the General Category or Reserve Category, is eligible to contest the election for the office of Sarpanch, which is reserved for the Scheduled Caste category. In view of the above, we do not find any merit in this petition and the same is hereby dismissed. (SATISH KUMAR MITTAL) JUDGE September 19, 2008 ( JASWANT SINGH ) vkg JUDGE