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Madhya Pradesh High Court · body

2010 DIGILAW 962 (MP)

Hari Mohan Chaudhary v. State of M. P.

2010-09-22

S.K.GANGELE

body2010
ORDER Heard. 1. Petitioner has filed this petition challenging the order of the Collector declaring the petitioner ineligible to contest election of the Nagar Panchayat, Alampur on the ground that he did not furnish the account of the election expenses within the prescribed time limit, copy of the order dated 19.10.2004 has been filed as Annexure R-l along with the return. 2. The petitioner was elected as President of Nagar Panchayat, Alampur in the election held in the month of December 1999. As per the petitioner, he submitted the details of account of election expenditure on 20.1.2000 to the District Election Officer. The Chief Municipal Officer also informed the Election Officer that the petitioner submitted that details of account of election expenditure of Nagar Panchayat, however, that could not be forwarded to the office of Election Officer within time, hence, the details are being forwarded. Copy of the letter has been filed as Annexure P-3 dated 10.3.2003. Further, the Chief Municipal Officer vide letter dated 22.9.2003 informed the Sub District Election Officer that the petitioner submitted the details of account of election expenditure to the Nagar Panchayat on 30.3.2000 and it was forwarded to the Election Officer vide letter No. 539 dated 2.1 0.2000. 3. The respondents in the return stated that the election of the Nagar Panchayat, Alampur was held in December 1999 and as per Election Expenses (Maintenance and Lodging of Account) Order, 1997 the petitioner has to submit the details of account of election expenditure within 30 days. However, the petitioner did not submit the details of election expenditure within time to the District Election Officer and the letter, Annexure P-1, mentioned by the petitioner is false. It was never, submitted by the petitioner to Nagar Panchayat, Alampur or the District Election Officer. It has further submitted that the Chief Municipal Officer has no authority to accept the details of account of election expenditure and because the petitioner failed to submit the election expenditure within time, hence the petitioner has been debarred from contesting the election for a period of 5 years. 4. Clause (10) of the election Expenses (Maintenance and Lodging of Account) Order, 1997 gives power to the District Election Officer in regard to lodging of account of election expenses and the decision of the Election Commissioner thereon. 4. Clause (10) of the election Expenses (Maintenance and Lodging of Account) Order, 1997 gives power to the District Election Officer in regard to lodging of account of election expenses and the decision of the Election Commissioner thereon. Clause 10 (5) and (6) prescribes issuance of notice to a candidate, who failed to lodge his account of election expenses within time prescribed in the order, which is as under:- (5) Where the Election Commission decides that a contesting candidate has failed to lodge his account of election expenses within the time and in the manner required by the Act and this Order, it shall by notice in writing call upon the candidate to show cause why he should not be disqualified under section 14-C of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 or as the case may be, section 32-C of the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1961 for the failure. (6) Any contesting candidate who has been called upon to show under paragraph (5) may within fifteen days of the receipt of such notice submit in respect of the matter a representation in writing to the Election Commission, and shall at the same time send to the District Election Officer a copy of his representation together with a complete account of his election expenses if he had not already furnished such an account." 5. As per the return filed by the respondents, the petitioner was issued a show cause notice by the District Election Officer on 26.2.2003 to lodge the election expenses and as per the reply submitted by the Chief Municipal Officer, copy of which has been filed as Annexure P-3 dated 10.3.2003, the details of account of election expenses of the petitioner were already forwarded to the Election Officer vide letter No. 539 dated 2.10.2000, hence the petitioner has already lodged the details of account of election expenses before issuing the show cause notice. 6. This Court in the case of Jawahar Lal Gupta v. Rajya Nirvachan Ayog; Bhopal and another, reported in 2003 (1) MPLJ Page 180, has held that if a candidate after receipt of show cause notice under Clause 10 (5) of the Order of 1997 lodges the details of account of election expenses within a period of fifteen days, he would not be liable to be disqualified. 7. 7. In such circumstances as per the principle of law laid down by this Court in the case of Jawahar Lal Gupta v. Rajya Nirvachan Ayog, Bhopal and another (supra) the impugned order passed by the Authority, Annexure R-1 dated 19.10.2004 is illegal. 8. Consequently, the petition of the petitioner is allowed. The impugned order, Annexure R-1 dated 19.10.2004 is hereby quashed. Looking to the facts of the case, there shall be no order as to costs.