1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR WRIT PETITION NO.2327 OF 2010 (Shri Narayan G. Wandiley vs. Returning Officer of Election to Gram Panchayat and others) __________________________________________________________________ Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders Court's or Judge's orders or directions and Registrar's orders. CORAM : D.D. SINHA AND A.P. BHANGALE, JJ. DATED : JANUARY 25, 2011 Heard Shri Anjan De, learned Counsel for the petitioner, Mrs. Dangre, learned Additional Government Pleader for respondent nos. 1 and 4, and Shri Choube, learned Counsel for the respondent no.3. It is brought to the notice of this Court that election of Gram Panchayat, Gawandi, District Yavatmal has already been completed. Shri Anjan De, learned Counsel for the petitioner, states that Rule 27 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Election Rules, 1959 provides that where 2 a person representing himself to be a particular voter entered in the voters' list applies for a ballot paper after another person has voted as such voter, the applicant shall, after duly answering such questions as the Presiding Officer may ask, is entitled to receive a ballot paper. The voter shall then record his vote in the manner provided by Rule 23 and hand over ballot paper to the Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer shall write thereon the name of the voter and his number in the voters' list and shall enclose the ballot paper in a separate packet and seal it. Such ballot paper shall not be counted by the Returning Officer and shall be termed “tendered ballot paper”. A list shall be maintained of the ballot paper so tendered in Form “C” appended to the Rules. Shri De, learned Counsel for the petitioner, further states that the Rule does not specify the procedure as to what to do with the ballot papers, which are kept in Form “C”. It is submitted that in the instant case, there are two such votes, which are classified as “tendered ballot papers”. The respondent no.3 has won election as Member of 3 Gram Panchayat only by one vote. It is contended that if the tendered votes are verified, then looking to the margin, the possibility of petitioner getting equal votes cannot be ruled out. Since election is already over and the remedy of election petition is available to the petitioner, we permit the petitioner to withdraw the petition keeping the issues raised in the petition open. If the petitioner files election petition, it is open for the petitioner to raise all such grounds, which are sustainable in law. JUDGE JUDGE khj