M.L.Chaturvedi, J. - (1.) This is an appeal against the Judgment of Mr. Justice Brij Mohan Lall, dismissing a writ petition filed by the appellant.
(2.) The appellant and respondents Nos. 1 to 3 were candidates for the office of Chairman, Town Area Committee, Bisauli, District Budaun, in the elections held in October, 1953. The nomination paper of the second respondent, Sri Dev Raj, was rejected by the Returning Officer and the third respondent Sri Jai Lal subsequently withdrew from the election. Only two candidates were thus left in whose favour votes were cast, and the respondent No. 1, Sri Mahendra Pal, was declared as having been duly elected, by a majority of votes, to the office. The appellant filed an election petition in which he challenged the election of the first respondent on the grounds that the respondent had been guilty of corrupt practices, that he had procured the withdrawal of opposite party No. 3 from the election by offering him a bribe and that the nomination paper of respondent No. 2 had been wrongly rejected by the Returning Officer. The Election Tribunal held that it was not proved that the respondent No. 1 had been guilty of any corrupt practice or that he had procured the withdrawal of the respondent No. 3 from the election by offering a bribe. On the point whether the nomination paper of the second respondent was wrongly rejected it held that the rejection was wrong. But the Tribunal was of the opinion that the appellant could not challenge the election of the first respondent on the ground that the nomination paper of the second respondent had been wrongly rejected, and that in any event it had not been proved that the result of the election had been materially affected by the rejection of the second respondent's nomination paper.
(3.) The appellant then filed a writ petition in this Court challenging the legality of the order of the Election Tribunal but the learned judge dismissed the petition as he agreed with the decision of the Election Tribunal.;