Learned Additional Government Advocate accepts notice on behalf of the respondents 1 to 3. Notice is not ordered in respect of respondents 4 to 6.
2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner.
3. Petitioner is before this Court praying for issuance of a writ of mandamus to respondents 1 to 5 to pass an order of disqualification and thereby disqualify the 6th respondent from the membership of the Ballari Zilla Panchayat, who stood elected from Ward No.16 of Sandur taluk.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the 6th respondent while filing his nomination had concealed the fact of his holding shares in the Prathamika Krushi Sahakara Sangha Niyamitha, Bhujanganagar and that in the affidavit while filing the nomination papers, he had specifically stated that he does not hold any shares but on the contrary, the 6th respondent is holding shares and hence, the said concealment and non-declaration amounts to an offence under the provisions of Section 125-A of the Representation of People Act, 1950 and hence, the petitioner had filed a private complaint registered as PCR No.54/2017 and subsequently, the jurisdictional police have filed a final report and hence, the instant writ petition and the prayer. A interim relief is also made seeking to restrain the 6th respondent from functioning as the elected member of the Ballari Zilla Panchayat.
5. Per contra, learned Additional Government Advocate would submit that holding of stock or share in any association or in any Co-operative Society is not a ground for disqualification under the Karnataka Grama Swaraj and Panchayathraj Act, 1993 (for short the Act) and hence, he would submit that the petition is misconceived.
6. Having heard learned counsel and having perused clause (d) of the last proviso to sub Section (1) of Section
167 of the Act, which reads as under: (d) a person shall not be deemed to have incurred disqualification under clause (h) by reason of his, -
i) having a share in any joint stock company or a share or interest in any association registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960 (Karnataka Act
17 of 1960) or in any co-operative society, which shall contract with or be employed by or on behalf of the Zilla Panchayat, or ii) having a share or interest in any newspaper in which any advertisement relating to the affairs of the Zilla Panchayat is inserted; or iii) holding a debenture or being otherwise concerned in any loan raised by or on behalf of the Zilla Panchayat.
7. This Court is of the opinion that on mere perusal of the above, it is apparent that holding of a share in a Co-operative Society does not constitute a disqualification. In that view of the matter, the instant writ petition is misconceived. Accordingly, petition stands rejected.
8. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner prays that the petition be dismissed as withdrawn. The said submission of the learned counsel is placed on record. Petition is dismissed as withdrawn. The trial Court shall not be influenced by the observation made herein above and shall independently consider and dispose off the proceedings. (Sd/-) JUDGE jm/-
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