H.N.Seth, J. - (1.) THE petitioner Hiralal was elected as President of the Municipal Board, Soron in a bye-election held in the year 1and71. On February 1, 1974, members of the Municipal Board passed a non-confidence motion against the petitioner. Consequently, the Office of the President fell vacant. After the vacancy was duly notified, the District Magistrate, Etah, on September 21, 1974, issued notices to the members of the Board informing them that a bye-election for electing the President of the Municipal Board was going to take place for which the nomination papers may be filed in his office by September 26, 1974 and, if necessary, the election would take place on October 1, 1974. According to the petitioner at that time he had come to Allahabad in order to file a writ petition. He was, therefore, not aware of the election programme fixed by the District Magistrate. As the petitioner was keen to contest the election again, he, while he was at Allahabad, kept on making enquiries from the Superinten dent of the Government Printing Press as to whether any notification fixing the date for filing of nomination papers for contesting the elec tion for the office of the President of the Municipal Board, Soron, had been published. Every time, till September 25, 1974, he was inform ed that no such notification had so far been published. On Septem ber 25, 1974 the Superintendent of the Government Printing Press, informed him that a news item regarding filing of nomination paper for the office of the President of the Municipal Board, Soron had been received and it was being sent for printing. He also informed the petitioner that till then no such news item had been published in the official Gazette which could be delivered to any one. On September 26, 1974 one Chob Singh of village Nijh Paton met the petitioner and told him that the nomination for the office of the President of the Municipal Board, Soron were to be filed by September 26, 1974, and that the election was going to take place on October 1, 1974. The pe titioner then filed the present petition under Art. 226 of the Constitu tion challenging the validity of the procedure adopted by the District Magistrate, Etah in holding the election for the office of the President of the Municipal Board, Soron and prayed that the District Magistrate be directed not to hold that election on October 1, 1974.
(2.) WHEN the writ petition was taken up for summary hearing, it was brought to the notice of the Bench concerned that the election programme had already been notified vide notification No. 337-VI-2-1974- 75, dated September 21, 1974, published in the Gazette of the same date. A copy of the Gazette was also produced for the perusal of the Court. Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the Gazette dated September 21, 1974 had not been printed on that date. In fact it was printed on or after September 25, 1974. Consequently, the election programme wherein September 26 had been fixed as the last date for filing the nomination paper, was in contravention of the provisions contained in paragraph 6 of the U.P. Municipalities (Con duct of Election of President and Election Petitions) Order, 1964, and the entire procedure adopted by the District Magistrate was illegal. He requested the Court to get the necessary enquiry made from the Superintendent of the Government Press' Accordingly, the Court directed that the petition be listed for admission on July 30, 1974 so as to enable the learned Standing Counsel to make enquiries from the Superintendent of the Government Press and to state before it the correct position in this regard. On September 30, 1974, the learned Standing Counsel, on the basis of information received from the Joint Superintendent, Govern ment Press, Allahabad, made a statement that the Government Press had issued the copy of the Gazette dated September 21, 1974, containing the notification dated September 21, 1974 fixing the election programme in question to the State Government for the first time on September 24, 1974, and that till then it was not available to any one. This statement necessarily implied that the date appointed for filing the nomination paper for election to the post of the Presi dent was a date less than four days after the publication of notifica tion under para 6(1) of the U.P. Municipalities (Conduct of Election of President and Election Petitions) Order, 1964. Learned Standing Counsel, however, invited the attention of the Bench to the case of Akhtar Husain v. District Magistrate, Moradabad Special Appeal No. 87 of 1974, connected with Special Ap peal No. 88 of 1974, decided on April 5, 1974. In that case it was held that in a case where sub-para (2) of paragraph 6 of the 1964 Order had been complied with non-compliance with the provi sion of sub-paragraph (1) of Paragraph 6 of the order did not have the effect of vitiating the election procedure. He urged that in the present case it is apparent that the provisions of sub-para (2) of Para graph 6 of the 1964 Order had been fully complied with. According ly, no case for interfering with or setting aside the election schedule had been made out. The Bench, however, felt that the decision of the Court in Akhtar Hussain's case Special Appeal No. 87 of 1974, connected with Special Ap peal No. 88 of 1974, decided on April 5, 1974 required further consideration. It accordingly admitted the writ petition and directed that the papers of the case be laid before Hon'ble the Chief Justice for constituting a larger Bench for hearing the case.
(3.) AT the time of admission of the writ petition, learned counsel for the petitioner also made a prayer that the election of the President, which was to take place on October 1, 1974, be stayed. However, the Bench did not consider it proper to stay the election but directed that the election would be subject to ultimate decision in the writ peti tion. Consequently, the election took place on October 1, 1974 and one Sri Nanhu Mai Gupta was declared elected as President of the Board. The petitioner then filed an application dated December 17, 1974, praying that in view of the changed situation, Sri Nanhu Mai Gupta and the Municipal Board, Soron, be also impleaded as respondents in the writ petition. This prayer was allowed on December 19, 1974 and Sri Nanhumal Gupta and the Municipal Board, Soron were im pleaded as respondents Nos. 3 and 4 in the writ petition. By another amendment the petitioner claimed a further relief for quashing the election proceedings that took place on October 1, 1974, wherein Sri Nianhumal Gupta had been declared elected as President of the Board.;