Lalan Kumar Singh vs The State Of Bihar
2023 Latest Caselaw 739 Patna

          IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                      Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.2083 of 2023
     ======================================================

1. Lalan Kumar Singh, S/o Mahendra Singh, Resident of Village Gonpura Alampur, P.O.- Alampur Gonpura, P.S.- Phulwarisharif, District- Patna, Bihar.

2. Dinesh Sharma, S/o Jaleshwar Sharma, Resident of Village- Hulas Chak Sorampur, P.S.- Janipur, P.O.- Sorampur, District- Patna, Bihar.

... ... Petitioner/s Versus

1. The State of Bihar through Principal Secretary, Co-operative Dept, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.

2. The Principal Secretary, Co-operative Dept, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.

3. The Registrar Co-operative Societies, Bihar, Patna.

4. The Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Patna Division, Patna.

5. The District Co-operative Officer, Patna.

6. The Election Officer (Sahyog Samiti), Vyapar Mandal, Phulwarisharif cum Block Development Officer, Phulwarisharif, Patna.

7. The Block Co-operative Officer, Phulwarisharif, Patna.

8. The Bihar State Election Authority, through Chief Election Officer, Patna.

9. The Chief Election Officer, Bihar State Election Authority, Patna.

10. The Secretary, Bihar State Election Authority, Patna.

11. The Advisor, Bihar State Election Authority, Patna.

12. Shailendra Kumar, S/o Late Rajendra Prasad Singh, Resident of Village Kurkuri, P.S.- Phulwarisharif, District- Patna, Bihar.

... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Lalit Kishore, Sr. Adv.

Dr. Ranjeet Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Ayush Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Yogesh Kumar, Adv.

Patna High Court CWJC No.2083 of 2023 dt.10-02-2023

Mr. Kanishk Kaustubh, Adv.

Mr. Shikhar Mani, Adv.

For the State Election Authority : Mr. Mukesh Kumar Thakur, Adv. For the Respondent No. 12 : Mr. S.B.K. Mangalam, Adv. ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHUTOSH KUMAR and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL JUDGMENT (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHUTOSH KUMAR) Date : 10-02-2023

We have heard Mr. Lalit Kishore, the

learned Senior Advocate for the petitioners and Mr.

Mukesh Kumar Thakur for the respondent/State

Election Authority. The respondent No. 12, a

candidate in the elections, is represented by Mr.

S.B.K. Mangalam.

2. The challenge in the present writ petition

is to the decision of the Returning Officer based on

the communication made by the Advisor to the State

Election Authority, whereby the names of the

petitioners and 76 others have been deleted from the

voter-list.

3. The urgency for the petitioners to Patna High Court CWJC No.2083 of 2023 dt.10-02-2023

approach this Court is that elections have been

announced, which is to be held on 13th of February,

2023.

4. It is the contention of the petitioners

that their names were not included in the draft voter-

list, to which they had objected and on their

furnishing proof, they were included in the final voter-

list, which was published on 09.01.2023.

5. It has further been informed to us that

barely a day after the final voter-list was published, a

complaint was received in the office of the State

Election Authority by the private respondent No. 12

and others that without any rational basis, the

Returning Officer has included the names of the

petitioners in the final voter-list. Pursuant to such

complaint, the Returning Officer was asked to explain

and submit a report, which he did. The District Co-

operative Officer also was asked to inquire into the

matter and report to the State Election Authority. Patna High Court CWJC No.2083 of 2023 dt.10-02-2023

6. However, without awaiting the result of

such enquiry, the elections schedule was announced

by the State Election Authority on 11.01.2023 only.

7. On the basis of the enquiry report by the

District Co-operative Officer and the Returning Officer,

the State Election Authority has now taken a decision,

behind the back of the petitioners and 76 others, that

their inclusion in the voter-list is not sustainable and

therefore their names be deleted.

8. The primary objection of the petitioners

is that they ought to have been given notice before

any decision was taken to exclude their names from

the final voter-list. The other objection is that when

such complaint was entertained, the State Election

Authority ought to have awaited the report of the

enquiry which was ordered by it before announcing

the date of the elections.

9. The petitioners lament that they have

been left with a very small window to operate and Patna High Court CWJC No.2083 of 2023 dt.10-02-2023

have the order rectified. The petitioners, therefore,

smell rat that the whole decision making process is

collusive.

10. On the contrary, Mr. Mangalam has

expostulated that there is nothing in the records which

would justify the inclusion of the petitioners in final

voter-list. No sooner, the private respondent and

many others, some of whom had thrown their hat in

the ring, made complaint before the State Election

Authority, which was promptly responded to. Only

when it was found that the inclusion of the names of

the petitioners in the final voter-list was not

sustainable, that such a decision was taken, which

cannot be faulted with and the elections be permitted

to be held as scheduled.

11. The learned counsel appearing for the

State Election Authority has submitted that in view of

the complaints against the petitioners and 76 others

of their wrongly having been included in the voter-list Patna High Court CWJC No.2083 of 2023 dt.10-02-2023

by the Returning Officer, necessary enquiry was made

and the complaint was found to be genuine.

12. The election dates, no doubt, were

announced earlier, but that was on the requisition of

the District Co-operative Officer as vacancy had arisen

in the concerned Vyapar Mandal and without

elections, the Vyapar Mandal would not have

functioned properly.

13. What has caught our attention is that

when a final voter-list was prepared, whereafter the

elections were announced, it was not appropriate for

the State Election Authority to have directed for

deletion of the names of the petitioners and 76 others

without giving them an opportunity of presenting their

cause, notwithstanding any complaint against their

inclusion and an adverse enquiry report against them.

They are required to be heard before a decision to

disenfranchise them is taken. Merely in the garb of

the State Election Authority exercising Patna High Court CWJC No.2083 of 2023 dt.10-02-2023

superintendence over the election matters of such

Vyapar Mandal would not justify such an action. The

Advisor to the State Election Authority, on the

decision of the Authority, has unilaterally made a

communication to the Returning Officer, who has

passed necessary orders disenfranchising the

petitioners.

14. This cannot be sustained in the eyes of

law.

15. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Thakur, the counsel

for the State Election Authority was asked to take

telephonic instructions from the Authority.

16. The State Election Authority is

reportedly wiling to postpone the date of elections and

decide the issue in question (the correctness of the

decision of the Returning Officer of including the

names of the 78 persons including the petitioners)

first, should the matter be relegated to it.

17. For the aforesaid circumstances, we Patna High Court CWJC No.2083 of 2023 dt.10-02-2023

dispose off this writ petition with a direction to the

State Election Authority to hear out the petitioners

and other voters whose names have been deleted

from the voter-list and all others, including the private

respondent and other candidates who have entered

the fray as well as the Society (Vyapar Mandal) and

take a final decision with respect to the genuineness

of the claim of the petitioners and similarly situated

persons of being members of the Vyapar Mandal, for

them to exercise the right to vote.

18. The District Co-operative Officer also

shall be heard by the State Election Authority.

19. The election dates shall be extended till

such time to complete such enquiry and resultant

decision.

20. This Courts expects that the entire

exercise shall be concluded within a period of 30

days, to be counted from today, whereafter the

election dates shall be announced which shall, as far Patna High Court CWJC No.2083 of 2023 dt.10-02-2023

as possible, not be beyond the period of 45 days from

today.

21. The State Election Authority would be

well advised to fix a date on which all the interested

parties would appear before it for the issue to be

finally decided.

                                       22.             With           the              aforesaid

                        observation/direction,             the     writ     petition     stands

                        disposed off.

23. Interlocutory application/s, if any, also

stands disposed off.

                                                 (Ashutosh Kumar, J)


                                                 (Satyavrat Verma, J)

Rishi-2/Praveen
AFR/NAFR                AFR
CAV DATE                N/A
Uploading Date          10.02.2023
Transmission Date       N/A