IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Special Appeal No. 86 of 2011 Dharampal Singh ………….. Appellant Versus State of Uttarakhand & others ………….. Respondents Present: Mr. M.S. Tyagi, Advocate for the appellant. Mr. J.P. Joshi, Chief Standing Counsel for the State / respondent Nos.1 to 4. Mr. Lalit Sharma, Advocate holding brief of Mr. Sanjay Bhatt Advocate for respondent No.6. Coram : Hon’ble Barin Ghosh, Chief Justice Hon’ble Servesh Kumar Gupta, Judge Date: 23rd May, 2011 JUDGMENT Barin Ghosh, C.J. (Oral) In the writ petition, petitioner (appellant herein) contended that respondent No.6, belonging to other backward community, contested election for the post of Gram Pradhan of a Panchayat, which was previously declared as reserved for scheduled caste candidates. The writ petition has been dismissed at the threshold without issuing notice to respondent No.6. The appellant has brought on record evidence suggesting that respondent No.6 belongs to other backward class community, and that, the election to the post of Pradhan of the said Gram Panchayat was reserved for scheduled caste candidates. We are of the view that such a dispute can be gone in in Writ Jurisdiction in view of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court rendered in K. Venkatachalam versus A. Swamickan and another, reported in JT 1999 (3) SC 242, but only to that extent by calling upon respondent No.6 to show that she belongs to scheduled caste community. In the event by reason of assertions raised by her disputed questions of facts crop up, of course, the writ petition, then, may not be maintainable. 2 We, accordingly, set aside the order under appeal and remit back the matter to the writ Court. (Servesh Kumar Gupta, J.) ( Barin Ghosh, C.J.) 23.05.2011 23.05.2011 P. Singh