SATISH KUMAR MITTAL,J. - (1.) PETITIONERS , who are elected Panches of Gram Panchayat of Village Ghakewal, Tehsil and District Nawanshahr, have filed this petition under Articles 226 227 of the Constitution of India challenging the election of respondent No. 6 as Sarpanch of the said Gram Panchayat.
(2.) IT is the case of the petitioners that petitioner No. 1, who has been elected as Panch from the reserved category of Scheduled Caste is the only eligible candidate to contest the election for office of Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat of' Village Ghakewal, Tehsil and District Nawanshaher, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste and respondent No. 6, who, though, is Scheduled Caste but has been declared elected against the General Category as unopposed, was not eligible to contest the election and he has been wrongly elected as Sarpanch of the said Gram Panchayat. On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondents while referring to the decision of' Hon'ble Supreme Court in Kasambhai F Ghanchi v. Chandubhai D Rajput and others, 1998(3) SCT 2 : 1998(1) RCR(Civil) 211 : (1998-2) PLR 611, submitted that any Panch, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste Category can contest the election of the office of Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste Category by producing a Scheduled Caste Certificate even though such person was elected as a Panch against the seat reserved for General Category.
(3.) THUS , the controversy in this writ petition is whether a Panch, who was elected as such against the seat reserved for General Category, is eligible to contest the election of the office of Sarpanch, which is reserved for the category of Scheduled Caste.;