TMI Blog2005 (3) TMI 785X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , the designated election Judge retired into the chambers where at 4.45 P.M. Sri P.K. Verma, the learned counsel for the appellant came and wanted to file this election petition. Since under High Court Rules the election petitions could be filed only in the open court, I, as the designated election Judge refused to accept the petition beyond court hours. Learned counsel said that though petition was made ready that very day for presentation, because of some delay in finalizing it, he had gone to the court after court hours but by that time the Judge had retired to his chambers. Learned Counsel also requested in chambers that the Court Officer might be directed to accept that by making an initial over the petition noting the time of presentation so that the petition might be presented on the next working day. Since High Court Rules did not permit that, I refused that prayer also. This was how the learned counsel presented the petition in the open court on 28.8.2003 The question arising for decision is : whether an election petition presented at 4.25 p.m. on 27.8.2003, the last date of limitation, admittedly 10 minutes after the Judge had risen from the open court but was a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion petition for the purposes of limitation. (2) Immediately after it is presented, the petition shall be entered in a special register maintained for the registration of election petitions. The limitation provided by Section 81 of the Act expires on 45th day from the date of election. The word 'day' is not defined in the Act. It shall have to be assigned its ordinary meaning as understood in law. The word 'day' as per English calendar begins at midnight and covers a period of 24 hours thereafter, in the absence of there being anything to the contrary in the context (See : Ramkrishan Onkarmal Agarwal v. State of Maharashtra AIR 1994 Bom 87, 94; The Municipal Council of Cuddalore v. S. Subrahmanya Aiyar 16 MLJ 101; The Law Lexicon, P. Ramanatha Aiyar, pp. 470, 471). Thus, the election petition could have been presented upto the midnight falling between 27th and 28th of August, 2003. The statutory period of limitation as provided by the Act cannot be taken away by the Rules framed by the High Court governing its procedure. The rules framed in exercise of the power conferred by Article 225 relate to procedural matters and cannot make nor curtail any substanti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion petition is carried to the Judge in open court either by the election petitioner or his counsel or by the Stamp Reporter or any official of the Registry under his directions. The Rule contemplates such presentation before the Stamp Reporter and the formal presentation to the Judge taking place on the same day and almost simultaneously as two steps of one transaction and in this background the date of presentation to the Judge or the Bench as described in Rule 6 is deemed to be the date of filing of the election petition. The process can also be reverse. If Stamp Reporter is not available, the election petition may be presented to the Judge who may then send it for scrutiny to the Stamp Reporter or any other official of the Registry. At the time of presentation, the Judge may not be sitting in open court, but that does not mean that the Judge cannot receive the election petition. He can receive it and then send it to the Stamp Reporter of the court. In Jamal Uddin Ahmad v. Abu Saleh Najmuddin and another (2003) 4 SCC 257, this Court has held that receiving an election petition presented under Section 81 of the Act is certainly not a judicial function which necessarily needs ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d by Rule 6 in the matter of presentation cannot be complied with. Under the general rules governing the practice as to presentation of pleadings and documents in the High Court, an election petition can be presented on the last day of limitation, when the judges are not sitting to receive or entertain an election petition, to the Registrar or in his absence to some other officer in the Registry authorized to receive such presentation. In Chandra Kishore Jha v. Mahavir Prasad and others (1999) 8 SCC 266, a different fact situation arose and the observation made by this Court therein, have to be read and understood in the light of the fact situation, which the Court was called upon to deal with. The question whether an election petition can be presented to the Judge only in open court and not elsewhere did not arise for decision. At a few places the reference made to 'presentation in open court' is simply by way of reproducing the language of the Rule and not a finding of this Court or the ratio of the decision. However, the Court did hold that the applicability of Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 to Section 81 of the Act was not excluded. If it was not possibl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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