IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. CWP NO.13318 of 2008 Date of Decision:17.10.2008. Harnek Singh ..........Petitioner. Versus State of Punjab and others. ..........Respondents. CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE SATISH KUMAR MITTAL HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE JASWANT SINGH. Present: Mr.Vishal Garg,Advocate for the petitioner. Mr.Mahabir Singh Sindhu,Additional Advocate General, Punjab for the respondents 1 to 3. Mr.JS Bhandohal,Advocate for respondent no.4. SATISH KUMAR MITTAL,J.(ORAL). The petitioner who contested the election for the post of Panch and has been defeated has filed the instant petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for setting aside the election of respondent no.4 as Panch of the Gram Panchayat, who also contested the election of the said post against reserved category of backward class. It is the case of the petitioner that respondent no.4 does not belong to a backward community and by mentioning wrong caste in his nomination papers he contested the election of Panch. Counsel for the respondents raised a preliminary objection that the petitioner has alternative remedy of filing election petition questioning the election of respondent no.4. In our opinion, the petitioner is raising disputed questions of facts and can question the election of respondent no.4 on the aforesaid CWP NO.13318 of 2008 2 ground only by filing election petition. In view of the said fact, counsel for the petitioner states that petitioner may be permitted to withdraw this petition with liberty to file the election petition challenging the election of respondent no.4 as Panch of Gram Panchayat of Village Kheri Sodhian. Counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that since he has filed this petition within the prescribed limit of 45 days of the declaration of the result, therefore, in view of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Danda Rajeshwari v. Bodavula Hanumayamma and others, (1996) 6 SCC 199, the petitioner may be granted three weeks time to file the election petition with direction to Election Tribunal to decide that petition on merit. Counsel for the respondent no.4 has no objection if the election petition is filed by the petitioner. In view of the above, this writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to the petitioner to file an election petition under Section 76 read with section 89 of the Punjab State Election Commission Act,1994, challenging the election of respondent no.4. In case the election petition is filed within three weeks from today, the Election Tribunal is directed to decide the same on merits expeditiously. (Satish Kumar Mittal) Judge 17.10.2008. (Jaswant Singh) joshi Judge