IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. C.W.P. No. 17665 of 2008 DATE OF DECISION : 04.10.2008 Shakuntla Devi and others .... PETITIONERS Versus State of Punjab and others ..... RESPONDENTS CORAM :- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SATISH KUMAR MITTAL HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASWANT SINGH Present: Mr. R.S. Manhas, Advocate, for the petitioners. * * * SATISH KUMAR MITTAL , J. ( Oral ) The petitioners, who are Panches of Gram Panchayat Village Sultanpur, Tehsil Pathankot, District Gurdaspur, have filed this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for setting aside the election of respondent No.5 as Sarpanch. It is the case of the petitioners that the office of Sarpanch of the aforesaid Gram Panchayat has been reserved for Scheduled Caste (Women) and petitioner No.1 is the only eligible candidate for being elected as Sarpanch, because she has been elected as Panch from the reserve category of Scheduled Caste (Women). Counsel further submits that respondent No.5, who has been declared elected as Sarpanch is not eligible to contest the election for the office of Sarpanch, because she was elected as a Panch CWP No. 17665 of 2008 -2- from the reserve category of Scheduled Caste. Therefore, her election as Sarpanch of the aforesaid Gram Panchayat, which is reserved for the Scheduled Caste (Women) category is wholly illegal. After hearing counsel for the petitioners, we do not find any merit in this petition, as this controversy has already been decided by this Court in CWP No. 14927 of 2008, titled as Paramjit Singh versus State of Punjab and others, decided on 26.8.2008, wherein it has been held that a Scheduled Caste woman, though elected as Panch from Scheduled Caste category, is fully eligible to contest the election of the office of Sarpanch, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste (Woman). Accordingly, in view of the decision of this Court in the aforesaid CWP No. 14927 of 2008, there is no merit in this petition and the same is, hereby, dismissed. ( SATISH KUMAR MITTAL ) JUDGE October 04, 2008 ( JASWANT SINGH ) ndj JUDGE