Tukol, J. - (1.)The short but important question that arises for decision in these two writ petitions is whether the Respondent, Election Officer, was right in declining to announce in the Meeting that the two Petitioners had been respectively elected uncontested as Chairman and Vice-Chairman on the ground that there was no quorum for that meeting.
(2.)It is undisputed that the Respondent called a meeting of the panchayat at 1 P.M. on November 23, 1968 in the office of the Kora Group Panchayat for election to the Offices of the Chairman and the Vice Chairman. The petitioner in Writ Petition No. 4221 filed his nomination paper for the office of the Chairman while the other petitioner filed his nomination paper for the office of the Vice-Chairman of the Panchayat. There were no other contestants for any of these Offices. The meeting commenced at 1 P.M. as scheduled and even though the members of the Panchayat that had assembled for the meeting waited till 3 P.M. there was no quorum. The meeting was accordingly adjourned to 29th November 1968 for conduct of the election without declaring that the two petitioners had been elected Chairman and Vice-Chairman without contest. It is the contention of the Petitioners that the Respondent was under a legal duty to declare them as elected to the Offices of the Chairman and Vice Chairman as there was no contest and the question of quorum did not arise.
(3.)The Election Officer has filed his counter-affidavits to the two petitions. He has stated that as only six members attended the meeting at 1 P.M. on November 23, 1968 and as there was no quorum as contemplated under Section 37 of the Mysore Village Panchayats and Local Boards Act 1959 (hereinafter called 'the Act') he could not make any declaration of the result. He has further stated that even on the adjourned date of November 28, 1968, there was no quorum and he could not further complete the proceedings.
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