Unknown vs State Of Uttarakhand And Others
2025 Latest Caselaw 1460 UK

Uttarakhand High Court

Unknown vs State Of Uttarakhand And Others on 1 August, 2025

                                                       2025:UHC:6767-DB
IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL
 THE HON'BLE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. G. NARENDAR
                               AND
      THE HON'BLE JUSTICE MR. ALOK MAHRA
         Public Interest Litigation No. 141 of 2025
                          1st August, 2025
 Suneet Singh                                   ..............Petitioner

                                Versus

 State of Uttarakhand and Others                ..........Respondents
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Presence:-
 Mr. Arjun Arora holding brief of Mr. AbhishekVerma, learned
 counsel for the petitioner.
 Mr. J.C. Pandey, learned Standing Counsel for the State of
 Uttarakhand.
 Mr. Sanjay Bhatt, learned counsel for State Election
 Commission/respondent no.2.
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 JUDGMENT :

(per Mr. G. Narendar C. J.)

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner

and the learned Standing Counsel for the State

Election Commission.

2. The instant writ petition is preferred

praying for the following reliefs:

"1. Direct an impartial and independent committee to conduct a fair inquiry, before 24.07.2025, into the role of Respondent Nos. 5 in making fraudulent entries using fabricated documents, and into the involvement and eligibility of the 200 individuals to vote in the upcoming Panchayat

2025:UHC:6767-DB Buxaura whose names were allegedly included illegally in the voter list.

2. Order to allow voting of these 200 individuals in the upcoming elections of gram panchayat Buxaura if it is found by the independent committee that they are eligible to vote as per Uttarakhand Panchayat Raj Act and Constitution of India.

3. Issue a writ of mandamus directing the Respondents to delete the 200 fraudulently included names from the voter list of Gram Sabha Buxaura after due enquiry and providing them opportunity of hearing in accordance with the provisions of the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016."

3. Learned Standing Counsel for the State

Election Commission submits that, pursuant to the

filing of the writ petition, action has been initiated

and the Village Development Officer has been

placed under suspension and such of those names,

who were found not ordinarily residing in the

Village, have also been deleted.

4. Per contra, learned counsel for the

petitioner would submit that some of the persons,

whose names have been pointed out by the

2025:UHC:6767-DB petitioner, have already cast their votes in the

elections that were held on 24.07.2025.

5. If the petitioner is of the opinion that the

elections are vitiated, it is always open for the

petitioner to avail the remedy of an Election

Petition and the Election Tribunal, being competent

to address the issue, will consider the same, in

accordance with law.

6. In view of the submissions made by the

learned Standing Counsel for the State Election

Commission that action has already been initiated,

we are of the opinion that the instant writ petition

can be disposed of by granting liberty to the

petitioner to seek remedy before the Election

Tribunal.

7. The writ petition stands disposed of

accordingly.

(G. NARENDAR, C. J.)

(ALOK MAHRA, J.) Dated: 01.08.2025 Mamta

2025:UHC:6767-DB