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NON-REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL  NO(S).  10999-11000 OF 2018 [@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 25993-25994 OF 2018]

USHA DEVI                                     Appellant(s)

                               VERSUS

BIBHA DEVI & ORS.                             Respondent(s)

J U D G M E N T

1. Leave granted.

2. The  whole  dispute  in  this  case  pertains  to  the

election to the post of Mukhiya to the Gram Panchayat

Kansi, District Darbanga, Bihar.   

3. It is not in dispute that at the time of declaration

of results, the votes of one booth, namely Booth No. 8,

though counted, were not included in the result sheet.

In that process, the first respondent herein was declared

as  the  Mukhiya.   The  appellant  herein  challenged  the

election.   The  dispute  has  traveled  through  several

rounds  of  litigation.   Finally,  the  Election  Tribunal

ordered re-totaling.  That has been challenged before the

learned Single Judge of the High Court.

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4. Against an interim order passed by the learned Single

Judge,  a  Letters  Patent  Appeal  was  filed  before  the

Division Bench of the High Court.  In the meantime, the

writ petition was sought to be amended.  We do not want

to  go  into  the  various  other  details  as  to  how  the

litigation was sought to be protracted.

5. It is seen from Annexure P9, which shows the votes

including the votes of Booth No. 8 (Form 21 as per Rule

81(1)) that the appellant herein had scored 1565 votes

whereas the first respondent had scored only 1557 votes.

No  technicality  shall  stand  against  the  will  of  the

people expressed through their votes.  Only on account of

laches  on  the  part  of  Returning  Officer,  it  is

unfortunate that the first respondent has been continuing

as Mukhiya despite not being the successful candidate.

The parties have been in litigation for the last 2 ½

years.  For the sake of purity of the democratic process

of  election,  we  are  of  the  view  that  the  litigation

should be given a quietus.

6. Accordingly,  these  appeals  are  disposed  of  as

follows:-

(i) Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 13244 of 2017 and

LPA No. 916 of 2018 pending before the High Court are

dismissed.  

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(ii) The  Returning  Officer  is  directed  to  formally

notify the result forthwith and take steps to administer

oath to the appellant.  This process shall be completed

within one week from today.  

.......................J.               [ KURIAN JOSEPH ]  

.......................J.               [ DEEPAK GUPTA ]  

.......................J.               [ HEMANT GUPTA ]  

New Delhi; November 15, 2018.