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For an election held on 23.2.1986, the votes were counted on 25.2.1986 and the 1st respondent was declared elected, having secured 649 votes for the post of the President of the Keelpaguthi Panchayat, Kulithalai Taluk Tamil Nadu. The petitioner and the 2nd respondent who were the other contestants were declared to have secured only. 556 votes and 8 votes respectively. Besides the voles secured by the contestants, 55 votes were declared to be invalid votes.

Two days after the results were declared i.e. On 27.2.1986, the petitioner sent telegrams and registered notices alleging irregularities in the counting of the votes. Thereafter, he filed an election petition O.P. No. 7/86 under Section 178 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act before the Election Tribunal (District Munsif), Kulithalai for setting aside the election of the 1st respondent as the PG NO 953 President of Keelpaguthi Panchayat. He alleged in the petition that the Returning Officer (3rd respondent) had wrongly treated some valid votes cast in his favour as invalid votes and a certain number of invalid votes as votes validly cast in favour of the 1st respondent and that the third respondent had failed to permit him and his agents to have scrutiny of the ballot papers at the time of counting. He, therefore, sought the reliefs of (a) setting aside the election of the first respondent, (b) ordering of re-count of votes and (c) a declaration that he had been duly elected.

In the recount of of votes it was found that there was no difference in the number of votes secured by the petitioner viz. 556 votes but in so far as the first respondent is concerned he had secured only 528 votes as against 649 votes he was originally held to have secured. The excess of 121 votes were found to be invalid votes and PG NO 954 therefore the total number of invalid votes came to 126 as against 55 votes originally held to be invalid votes. There was no difference in the number of 8 votes secured by the third contestant viz. the second respondent.

"Therefore,in a proper case, the Tribunal can order the inspection of the ballot boxes and may proceed to examine the objections raised by the parties in relation to the improper acceptance or reject of the voting papers. But in exercising this power, the Tribunal has to bear in mind certain important considerations. Section 83(1)(a) of the Act requires that an election petition shall contain a concise statement of the material facts on which the petitioner relies; and in every case, where a prayer is made by a petitioner for the inspection of the ballot boxes, the Tribunal must enquire whether the application made by the petitioner in that behalf contains a concise statement of the material facts on which he relies. Vague or general allegations that valid votes were improperly rejected, or invalid votes were improperly accepted, would not serve the purpose which section 83(I)(a) has in mind. An application made for the inspection of ballot boxes must give material facts which would enable the Tribunal to consider whether in the interests of justice, the ballot boxes should be inspected or not. In dealing with this question, the importance of the secrecy of the ballot papers cannot be ignored, and it is always to be borne in mind that the statutory Rules framed under the Act are intended to provide adequate safeguard for the examination of the validity or invalidity of votes and for their proper counting. It may be that in some cases. the ends of justice would make it necessary for the Tribunal to allow a party to inspect the PG NO 956 ballot boxes and consider his objections about the improper acceptance or improper rejection of votes tendered by voters at any given election; but in considering the requirements of justice, care must be taken to see that election petitioners do not get a chance to make a roving or fishing enquiry in the ballot boxes so as to justify their claim that the returned candidate's election is void."