SHIV MURAT Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has challenged the elections of the respondent no. 4 Smt. Wahida Begum as a Member of the Kshetra Panchayat, thereby also questioning the election process for the office of Pramukh of Laxmanpur, Tehsil Lalganj, District Pratapgarh on the ground that the respondent no. 4 has succeeded in getting herself elected as Member on the basis of forged and manipulated records relating to her caste.

(2.) Dr. L.P. Misra learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the manipulation in relation to the caste of the respondent no. 4 in a fraudulent manner is self-evident and, therefore, this Court should call for a response and issue a mandamus as prayed for declaring the elections of respondent no. 4 a nullity.

(3.) The writ petition has not been framed as a writ of quo-warranto and does not pray for any certiorari. A preliminary objection has been raised by the respondents to the maintainability of the writ on the ground that the petitioner has the remedy of filing an election petition and, therefore, this writ in the manner as framed is not maintainable and deserves to be rejected. This preliminary objection has been taken by the learned counsel for the respondent no. 4 Sri Raghvendra Singh, Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Padam Kant Misra, as well as by the learned counsel for the State Election Commission Ms. Aprajita Bansal. A similar objection has been taken by the learned Standing Counsel on behalf of the State as well.