Mandatory clear-days election notice requirement made the election notice invalid for falling short of the statutory minimum period.

A statutory election notice requirement under Rule 4 of the Panchayat Election Rules, 1954 was treated as mandatory and requiring seven clear days' notice before the election date. Applying the rule that fractions of a day are not counted and that a minimum interval means clear days, the Court excluded both the day of notice and the day of election. That left only six clear days between publication on 14 October 1955 and the election on 21 October 1955, so the notice did not satisfy the statutory minimum period. The election proceedings were therefore held invalid and liable to be quashed.

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Issues: Whether the election notice under Rule 4 of the Panchayat Election Rules, 1954 was required to be given as seven clear days' notice before the date of election, and whether the notice published on 14 October 1955 for an election held on 21 October 1955 complied with that requirement.

Analysis: Rule 4 was held to be mandatory and not merely directory. The rule required the Returning Officer to announce the notice at least seven days before the election date. In computing the period, the Court applied the settled principle that fractions of a day are not reckoned and that a statutory requirement of a minimum interval means clear days. On that basis, the day of announcement and the day of election were excluded, leaving only six clear days. The notice therefore did not satisfy the statutory minimum period.

Conclusion: The notice was invalid for non-compliance with Rule 4, and the election proceedings were illegal and liable to be quashed in favour of the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory election rule requires notice to be given

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