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Judgment
This matter is taken up through Hybrid mode.
The appellant in the present intra-Court appeal has questioned the correctness of an order dated 28.02.2024 passed by a learned Single Judge in W.P.(C) No.26767 of 2023, whereby the appellant’s writ petition has been dismissed.
Short facts of the case are that the appellant was elected as Sarpanch of Ratnagiri Grama Panchayat which became subject matter of challenge in an election petition filed by the respondent no.1 vide Election Petition No.10 of 2022 in the court of learned Civil Judge-cum-Election Tribunal, Jajpur. When the evidence was being adduced, the respondent no.1 is said to have filed a petition on 16.05.2023 seeking examination of three more witnesses and adducement four documentary evidence relating to birth of third child of the appellant. The said petition dated 16.05.2023 was allowed by an order dated 09.08.2023 by the learned Civil Judge-cum-Election Tribunal, Jajpur. The said order was sought to be challenged by the appellant in the aforesaid W.P.(C) No. 26767 of 2023, which has been dismissed by the learned Single Judge by the impugned order dated 28.02.2024.
Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant has attempted to convince this Court that the Election Tribunal ought not to have allowed the petition for adducement of evidence beyond pleadings and therefore, the learned Single Judge ought to have interfered with the said order in exercising power under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
We do not find any legal infirmity in the impugned order passed by the learned Single Judge. We are of the view that the writ petition filed by the appellant was itself not maintainable under Article 226 of the Constitution of India against the order passed by the learned Civil Judge-cum-Election Tribunal, Jajpur in the facts and circumstances of the case, on an election petition putting to challenge the election of the appellant to the post of Sarpanch under the provisions of Odisha Grama Panchayats Act, 1964 read with Odisha Gram Panchayat Election Rules, 1965.
This appeal has no merit, which is accordingly dismissed.
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