- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) This appeal arises out of a judgment dated 18.2.2011 of the High Court of Orissa in Writ Appeal No.114 of 2011.
(3.) The factual background of the litigation is as follows:- (A) Election to the post of Sarpanch of Kulagada Gram Panchayat in the District of Ganjam, Orissa were held in the year 2007. The appellant, the first respondent and two others filed their nominations. The scrutiny of the nominations took place on 16 th January, 2007. The returning officer held all the four nominations valid. (B) Subsequently, except the appellant and the first respondent, the other two candidates withdrew from contest. Election took place on 17 th February, 2007, wherein the appellant herein was declared elected. (C) The first respondent, filed an Election Petition under Section 31 read with Section 34 of the Gram Panchayat Act, 1964 (for the sake of convenience it is called "the Act"), on the ground that the appellant herein was not eligible to contest the election in view of Section 11(b) of the Act which declares that no member of Gram Sasan (a defined expression under Section 2(h) of the Act I ) shall be eligible to contest for the post of Sarpanch if he has not attained the age of 21 years. It is the specific case of the first respondent that the appellant herein was born on 20.06.1986 and had not attained the age of 21 years by the relevant date. The 1 st respondent, therefore, sought two reliefs in the election petition that the election of the appellant herein be set aside and also that the 1 st respondent be declared to have been duly elected. The appellant contested the election petition. By the judgment dated 29.11.2008 the election petition was allowed. Aggrieved by the decision of the trial Court, the appellant herein carried the I "Gram Sasan" means a Grama Sasan established under Section 4 . matter in an appeal under Section 38(4) of the Act to the District Court, Ganjam. The appeal was dismissed by a judgment dated 14 th September, 2009. (D) Aggrieved by the same, the appellant herein carried the matter by way of a Writ Petition (Civil) No. 14356 of 2009 to the High Court of Orissa which was also dismissed by a Judgment dated 18.2.2011, and the same was challenged in an Intra Court appeal in appeal No. 114 of 2011 without any success. By the Judgment under appeal, the writ appeal was dismissed. ;