Jajpur court junks election of panchayat samiti member

Kendrapada: A court in Jajpur district on Saturday set aside the election of a panchayat samiti member of Bhusandapur gram panchayat under Barachana block for violating the two-child norm as per the Orissa Gram Panchayat Act.Jagannath Muduli had been elected as samiti member on February 18, 2022, by defeating his nearest rival Maheswar Behera. At the time of filing of nomination papers, Behera had opposed the nomination of Muduli before the election officer claiming he was the father of three children. But the election officer had rejected the plea and declared the nomination of Muduli valid.Subsequently, Behera filed a case in the court of civil judge (senior division) in Chandikhol against the election of Behera alleging that as per section 11 of the Act, a person having more than two children is not entitled to contest in the panchayat election. The court after examining the documentary and oral evidence, including birth certificates of Muduli’s children, set aside his election as panchayat samiti member. The court also directed the district administration to issue a fresh election notification for the post. Apart from Odisha, the two-child norm for panchayat election is present in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana.“As per the Representation of the People Act, 1951, there is no restriction on the number of children of a contestant for the post of MLA and MP. But under the Gram Panchayat Act a person having more than two children is not entitled to contest in the rural elections. The Parliament should amend the Representation of the People Act to impose some restrictions like the Gram Panchayat Act on those contesting for MLA and MP posts for a healthy democracy,” said Subash Das, a lawyer of Kendrapada.