FAO.No.5849 of 2009 (O&M) 1 In the High Court for the States of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh. Decided on 13.7.2010. Nachhattar Singh and others --Appellants vs. Gurmel Singh and others -- Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RAKESH KUMAR JAIN Present: Mr.B.S.Sidhu,Advocate,for the appellants Mr.Tarsem Singh,Advocate, for respondent Nos.1 to 3 Mr.Arun Bansal,Advocate, for respondent No.4. Rakesh Kumar Jain, J,(Oral) This appeal is directed against the order passed by Presiding Officer-cum-Election Tribunal, Bathinda, dated 27.10.2009, by which election petition filed by the appellants has been dismissed. Brief facts of the case are that seven members Gram Panchayat, Buraj Ladha Singh Wala, Tehsil Phul ,District Bathinda, was constituted on 26.5.2008. Pursuant to which, process was started for the election of Sarpanch of the village, under Section 13-A of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (for short,'the Act). Meeting for the election of Sarpanch was convened on 18.7.2008. In that meeting, only three members came present, namely Major Singh, Sandeep Kaur and Gurmel Singh. Due to lack of coram, the said meeting failed and the election was postponed. Thereafter, vide notice No. 596 dated 19.7.2008, the meeting was refixed on 21.7.2008 FAO.No.5849 of 2009 (O&M) 2 at 12.a.m. in the office of D.D.P.O., Rampura Phul. Said notice was served on all the seven panches. Pursuant to which, the respondents had attended the meeting, but the appellants did not attend the meeting. Thereafter, in terms of rule 45-A of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Election Rules,1994 (for short, the Rules) Gurmel Singh was elected as Sarpanch because in the said/adjourned meeting, no coram was required. Aggrieved against the election of Gurmel Singh, who according to the appellants, did not have the majority of panches, a Civil Writ Petition No.13012 of 2008 was filed before this Court on 23.7.2008 on the presumption that meeting held on 19.7.2008 was adjourned sine die and prayer was made in the said writ petition seeking direction to the official respondents to conduct the meeting of the panchayat for the purpose of election of the Sarpanch. The writ petition was disposed of by this Court on 28.7.2008 in terms of the order passed in C.W.P.No. 12694 of 2008 titled as Gurmeet Singh and others Vs. State of Punjab and others. Thereafter,the appellants filed another C.W.P.No. 18076 of 2008 , challenging the election of the Sarpanch held on 21.7.2008. The said writ petition was dismissed as withdrawn on 20.10.2008 by the appellants with liberty to file an election petition in accordance with law. Thereafter the present election petition was filed in which the appellants had alleged that the meeting of 21.7.2008 has been held clandestinely without notice to them. Therefore, it was prayed that election of the Sarpanch be quashed and it may be re-notified and held in accordance with law. The Tribunal after taking into consideration the evidence from both the sides found that notice served on 21.7.2008 was given to all the FAO.No.5849 of 2009 (O&M) 3 seven panches which is apparent from the fact that one of the appellants, namely Nachhattar Singh has admitted in his cross examination that he had intimation of the meeting held on 21.7.2008. In view of the above that the appellants had the knowledge and the intimation about the meeting to he scheduled/held on 21.7.2008 for the purpose of election of the Sarpanch in which they did not participate, they have no reason to say that they had been deliberately ignored by the Returning Officer at the time of election. In view of the finding recorded by the Tribunal, I do not find any merit in this appeal ad the same is hereby dismissed, though without any order as to costs. 13.7.2010 (Rakesh Kumar Jain) RR Judge