Heera Lal vs State of Rajasthan and Others

Sangeet Lodha, J.

By way of this writ petition, the petitioner has questioned legality of order dated 21.12.09 passed by the District Election Officer, Jodhpur, whereby the appeal preferred by the petitioner against the order dated 13.12.09 passed by the Electoral Registration Officer, Phalodi deleting the names of 182 electors from the electoral roll of Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat, Khara, stands dismissed.

The draft electoral roll of Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat, Khara was published by the Electoral Registration Officer. The respondent No. 4-Balwanta Ram raised objection against the inclusion of names of 182 electors in the electoral roll on the ground that they are residents of Baigati Kala. The objection raised was contested by the electors by filing a reply thereto. They also produced documents i.e. job cards, ration cards, photo identity cards etc. showing that they are residents of Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat, Khara. However, the Electoral Registration Officer relying upon the report of the Patwari, Halka-Khara, opined that the said electors are ordinarily residents of village-Baigatikhurd of Gram Panchayat, Baigati Kala and accordingly, directed deletion of their names from the electoral roll, vide order dated 13.12.09.

Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner preferred an appeal before the District Election Officer, Jodhpur under Rule 21 of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Election) Rules, 1994 (for short "the Rules"). The appeal preferred stands dismissed by the District Election Officer, Jodhpur by the order impugned. Hence, this petition.

On 6.1.10, a coordinate Bench of this court while issuing notices to the respondents, by way of an interim order, stayed the operation of impugned orders dated 13.12.09 and 26.12.09. The application preferred by the respondent No. 4 under Article 226 of the Constitution of India was rejected by this court vide order dated 18.1.10. In this view of the matter, the names of the said electors were included in the final electoral roll of the Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat, Khara ad accordingly, they have participated in the elections of Gram Panchayat, Khara held in the year 2010. It is informed that thereafter, the electoral rolls have been further revised during the elections of the Panchayati Raj Institution held in the year 2014. However, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that if the order impugned are allowed to stand, it is bound to affect the right of the said voters for inclusion of their names in the electoral roll in future and therefore, the matter needs to be heard on merits.

Heard learned counsel for the parties.

Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the petitioner and his likes are casting their votes as electors of village-Khara for last so many years. Learned counsel submitted that to substantiate their claim, the petitioner and his likes had submitted all the relevant documents including photo identity card showing that they are ordinarily residents of Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat, Khara, yet ignoring the documents placed, the Electoral Registration Officer solely relying upon the report of the Patwari, obtained in the back of the petitioner and his likes, proceeded to pass the order impugned deleting the names of the said voters including the petitioner from the electoral roll. Learned counsel submitted that no inquiry worth the name in respect of the objection raised was conducted by the Electoral Registration Officer and straight away without examining the correctness of the objection raised, the order impugned has been passed under the political influence. Learned counsel submitted that the Appellate Authority has also fallen in the same error inasmuch as, the stand of the petitioner and his likes has not been taken into consideration. Learned counsel submitted that the non speaking order passed by the Electoral Registration Officer and the Appellate Authority without examination of the material on record, are ex facie illegal and arbitrary.

On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the respondents submitted that as per the report submitted by the Patwari after field verification, it was apparent that the said 182 persons are not ordinarily residents of village-Khara rather, they are residents of village-Baigatikhurd and therefore, the order passed by the Electoral Registration Officer, affirmed by the District Election Officer, deleting their names from the electoral roll, cannot be faulted with. Learned counsel submitted that while dealing with the objection raised, the Electoral Registration Officer is not required to enter into a roving inquiry and is competent to pass an appropriate order after summary inquiry and therefore, the contention raised by the petitioner that the order impugned has been passed without a proper inquiry, is not sustainable.

I have considered the rival submissions and perused the material on record.

It is not disputed before this court that the petitioner and his likes were casting the votes for years together as electors of the ward in question of Gram Panchayat, Khara. It is also not disputed that the inclusion of the name of the petitioner and his likes was objected to by the respondent No. 4 stating that they are residents of Baigatikhurd, however, no material in support of the objection raised was placed on record. To the contrary, the petitioner and his likes while contesting the objection raised by filing a reply thereto had placed on record the documents showing that they are ordinarily residents of Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat, Khara. A bare perusal of the order impugned reveals that the documents placed on record by the petitioner and his likes substantiating the claim for inclusion of their names in the electoral roll of Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat, Khara have not at all been considered by the Electoral Registration Officer and the Appellate Authority. The Electoral Registration Officer as also the Appellate Authority solely relying upon the report of the Patwari by merely recording their ipse dixit that all 182 voters inclusion whereof in the electoral roll is objected to, are not ordinarily residents of Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat, Khara. It is true that while deciding the objection, the Electoral Registration Officer is not required to enter into a detailed inquiry into the objection raised but then, while conducting the summary inquiry into the claims or objections raised in terms of Rule 14(3) of the Rules, is under an obligation to consider the material on record in its entirety and objectivity and could not have brushed aside the documents placed on record by the petitioner and his likes substantiating their claim for inclusion of their names in the electoral roll. In this view of the matter, non speaking order passed by the Electoral Registration Officer, affirmed by the Appellate Authority, without due consideration of the material on record, is ex facie illegal and arbitrary and therefore, deserves to be quashed.

In the result, the writ petition succeeds, it is hereby allowed. The order impugned passed by the District Election Officer dated 21.12.09, affirming the order passed by the Electoral Registration Officer dated 13.12.09, is quashed. It is made clear that on account of the orders impugned being quashed by this court, the respondent No. 4 or any other elector, who is entitled to raise objections shall not be precluded from raising the objections against the inclusion of the said voters in the electoral roll of Ward No. 6 of Gram Panchayat, Khara, as and when the revision of electoral roll is undertaken in future.