Juli Devi v. The State of Bihar
Maintainability of writ petition – challenge to election of a returned candidate
Case brief
What is this about?
Patna High Court, Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.4388 of 2022, decided 20-11-2024 by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Nawneet Kumar Pandey. Petitioner Juli Devi challenged election matter concerning returned candidate Vishakha Devi (respondent no.5); respondents included State of Bihar (Panchayati Raj Department), District Magistrate Katihar, District Panchayat Raj Officer Katihar, and Returning Officer cum-BDO Azamnagar. Court held that under Section 137 of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006 read with Rule 106 of the Bihar Panchayat Election Rules, election of a returned candidate can be questioned only by election petition, so the writ petition was not maintainable and was dismissed. Keywords: maintainability, election petition, returned candidate, Bihar Panchayat Raj Act S.137, Bihar Panchayat Election Rules R.106.
What did the court decide?
Section 137 of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006 read with Rule 106 of the Bihar Panchayat Election Rules specifically provides that the election of a returned candidate cannot be questioned except by way of an election petition; consequently, the writ petition is not maintainable.