- (1.) THIS is an application under article 227 of the Constitution against the decision of the Chief Judge, small Causes Court, Calcutta on an election petition.
(2.) THE question involved in this case is whether a person who has been validly nominated as a candidate, if defeated, may challenge the validity of the election. The answer given by the trial authority is that some of the candidates cannot and the petitioner, in particular, cannot challenge the validity of the election. The decision of the chief Judge, Small Causes Court, Calcutta, who is the Election Judge, is supported by the observations of this court in a decision of Mcnair, J. reported in (1) 41 Calcutta Weekly Notes 488, champalal Gupta v. Mohanlal Makkar. The answer to this question largely depends on the interpretation of section 73 of the Calcutta Municipal Act and construction of that section with reference to sections 52, 53 and 54 and some other sections of that statute. Hence, section 73 may be referred to, at once which for the present purpose may be read as follows : 73 (1 ). " if the validity of any election is questioned, whether by reason of or for any other cause, any person enrolled in the electoral roll may, at any time within eight days after the said publication, apply to the Chief Judge, Small Cause Court of Calcutta. "
(3.) THE question is what is the meaning of the phrase 'any person enrolled in the electoral roll'? it is urged on behalf of the petitioner that the aforesaid phrase may be interpreted to mean any person enrolled in the 'electoral roll of any constituency' and the interpretation of the opposite party is that the aforesaid phrase means any person enrolled in 'the electoral roll of that constituency,' that means, the constituency, the election from which is challenged. Hence, it is urged and it has been held by the trial court that a person, whose name does not appear in the electoral roll of the constituency in question, is not entitled to challenge the election ; it follows if he be a candidate of the constituency in question though ho cannot challenge the election he may still be a proper party to an election petition filed by somebody else.;