NAND KISHORE PRASAD Vs. BLOCK DEVELOPMENT OFFICER AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant had filed Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 923 of 1970 in this Court, praying that the order, dated the 23rd April, 1970 passed by the Sub -divisional Officer, Biharsharif, rejecting the nomination paper of the petitioner be set aside. This writ application was dismissed in limine by a learned Judge of this Court on the 28th April, 1970 and this letters patent appeal has been filed against that Order. The relevant facts are as follows. The petitioner was a candidate for the election of the Mukhiya of Supasong Gram Panchayat, in the district of Patna. He was the Headmaster in a State -subsidised High School at Afzalpur, in the district of Santal Parganas. He had purported to resign from the service by a letter, dated the 7th April, 1970 sent to the Secretary of the school, a copy of which was given as Annexure 2 to the writ application. He had filed his nomination paper on the 13th April, 1970 and it was accepted by the Returning Officer on the same day. Chhotey Prasad, a respondent in the writ case, had filed an objection to the acceptance of the nomination paper of the appellant and the Sub -divisional Officer, Biharsharif, rejected the appellant's nomination paper on the ground that the appellant was the Headmaster of the school concerned and that his resignation had till then not been accepted by the Managing Committee of the School. The petitioner's case in the writ application was that his resignation letter, dated the 7th April, 1970 sent to the Secretary of the School had been received by the Secretary and the petitioner's resignation was accepted by him. The petitioner had been directed to hand overcharge, which he did on the 15th April, 1970. A copy of the charge report was given as Annexure 4 to the writ application, Thus, the petitioner had made out a case in the writ application that since he had resigned and handed over charge before the date of filing the nomination paper he was qualified to be a candidate and the Sub -divisional Officer had wrongly rejected his nomination paper under Sec. 79(1)(b) of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, That provision of law reads thus: