- (1.) IN this application under Article 227 of the Constitution, the petitioner, Shyamal Pal, has challenged the order of the 1st Court of the Additional District Judge, hooghly dated May 28, 1985 setting aside the election of the petitioner to the office of the Commissioner of Ward No. 15 of the Serampore Municipality held on May 21, 1981, under section 38 of the Bengal Municipal Act, 1932, hereinafter referred to as the Act.
(2.) THE opposite party no. 2, Aloke Ranjan Banerjee, and the petitioner were the two contesting candidates in the election of Commissioner of Ward No. 15 of Serampore Municipality. The petitioner defeated the opposite party no. 2 by 13 votes and was declared elected by the Presiding Officer of such election. Thereafter, within ten days of such declaration of the result of the election, the opposite party no. 2 made an application under section 36 of the Act before the District Judge challenging the validity of the election of the petitioner. The grounds for such challenge were as follows: " (a) No copy of the list of contesting candidates was given to the opposite party no. 2 (b) there had been casting of false votes; (c) the ink supposed to be indelible and put on the fingers of the voters was of a very inferior quality and could be easily erased; (d) due to false votes, there was at. least one tender vote; (e)in the ballot papers, the name of the opposite party no. 2 was wrongly printed as "aloke Ranjan Banerjee" instead of "aloke Ranjan Banerjee" (f) the opposite party no. 2 filed an application for recounting off votes and the Presiding Officer said "it would be done to-morrow". Instead it was found that at a late hour or in the early morning of June 1, 1981, the result of the election was published on May 31, 1981".
(3.) THE learned Additional District Judge overruled the contentions of the opposite party no. 2 as contained in the above grounds nos. (a) to (d) and (f ). So far as the ground no. (e)is concerned, the learned Additional District Judge took the view that the result of the election could be said to have been materially affected by non-compliance with Rule 16 of the West Bengal Municipal Election Rules,1975 hereinafter referred to as the Rules. In that view of the matter, the learned Additional District Judge set aside the election or the petitioner as Commissioner of Ward No. 15 of the Serampore municipality. Hence this application by the petitioner.;