VASUDEO GANU VARTAK Vs. RETURNING OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner filed his nomination paper for election to the Thana Zilla Parishad from the Palghat electoral division of the Edwan Constituency. The 2nd respondent, a rival candidate, objected to the petitioner's nomination on the ground that the schools of which the petitioner was a Head Master was in receipt of Grant-in-Aid from the State Government, and therefore, the petitioner was holding an office of profit under or in the gift of Government. The Returning Officer upheld the objection by his order dated the 6th of May 1967 and rejected the nomination paper of the petitioner.

(2.) THE petitioner filed an appeal against the decision of the Returning Officer on the 8th of May 1967 and that appeal was presented by him to Mr. D. B. Deshpande, Assistant Judge, Thana, who for the time being, was holding charge of the District Court Mr. N. D. Kamat, the Registrar of the High Court, had been posted as the District Judge of Thana, but he took charge of that post on the 12th of May. Mr. Kamat heard the appeal on the 12th and by his judgment dated the 15th of May, he held that the appeal was not properly presented, because the appeal lay to the District Judge as a persona designata and Mr. Deshpande who was not posted or appointed as the District Judge of Thana, had not right to accept the appeal. The learned District Judge also observed while dismissing the appeal that since the school of which the petitioner was the Head Master received Grant-in-Aid from the State Government, the petitioner was disqualified from contesting the election. Being aggrieved by this decision, the petitioner approaches this Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution.

(3.) TURNING first to the question arising out of presentation of the appeal to the learned Assistant Judge, Section 14 of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961 (Maharashtra Act V of 1962), hereinafter called the "act", provides by sub-section (2) that the State Government shall make rules, inter alia, for an appeal to a judge not below the rank of a District Judge against the decision of a Returning Officer accepting or rejecting a nomination paper. Rule 20 of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads Election Rules, 1962, hereinafter called the "the Rules", provides by sub-rule (1), in so far as is material, that any candidate aggrieved by a decision of the Returning Officer accepting or rejecting a nomination paper, may present an appeal therefrom to the District Judge of the district in which the area of the Zilla Parishad is situate, within a period of three days from the date on which the names of the candidates whose nomination papers are accepted by the Returning Officer, are published. Now in view of the provisions contained Now in view of the provisions contained in Section 14 (2) of the Act read with Rule 20 of the Rules, there can be no doubt that an appeal against the decision of the Returning Officer accepting or rejecting a nomination paper lies to the District Judge as a persona designata and the appeal does not lie to the District Court as such. Since the appeal lies to the District Judge and not to the District Court, Mr. D. B. Deshpande who did not hold the office of the District Judge, Thana, could not have accepted the appeal filed by the petitioner. The appeal therefore was not properly presented.