V NARAYANACHARI Vs. COMMISSIONER AND RETURNING OFFICER CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF BANGALORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was one of the candidates for election to the City of Bangalore Municipal Corporation from the 43rd Division. He presented his nomination paper on the 21st of November 1970. According to the calendar of events relating to the election the last date for presentation of nomination papers was the 23rd of November 1970 and the date fixed for scrutiny of the nomination papers was the 25th of November 1970. At the scrutiny M. Obanna Raju, another candidate for election from the same Division (impleaded as the 8th respondent in this writ petition), raised an objection to the reception of the nomination paper of the petitioner on the ground that the petitioner had not paid the property tax payable to the Corporation by him in respect of his property in Division No. 43. The petitioner produced a receipt for payment of taxes made by him at 3-30 P.M. on the same day, viz., the 25th of November 1970. According to the receipt, payment made was of taxes for the years 1968-69, 1969-70 and 1970-71. Thereupon, the Returning Officer (the first respondent) rejected the nomination paper recording his decision in that regard as follows:

(2.) In this writ petition filed on the 27th of November 1970, the petitioner prays for the issue of a writ of mandamus directing the first respondent the Returning Officer, to accept the petitioner's nomination.

(3.) The ground stated in support of the prayer are firstly that S. 56(2) (ee) of the City of Bangalore Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, is invalid or unconstitutional as being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution and secondly that the order of the Returning Officer rejecting the nomination paper is so patently illegal that the error should be corrected immediately under Art. 226 of the Constitution to prevent unnecessary waste of public time and money.