Bona fide correction in election lot draw upheld; court declined to interfere absent mala fides or legal infirmity.
A corrective redraw of lots for determining outgoing council members was upheld where the earlier draw had inadvertently omitted a deceased member and the process had to conform to the governing regulations. The court treated the redraw as a bona fide step to complete the election process, found no material showing mala fides or vested interest, and noted that courts ordinarily avoid stalling an ongoing electoral process absent a clear legal infirmity. The challenge to interference on grounds of arbitrariness or illegality was therefore rejected, and the election process was permitted to continue.
Issues: Whether the writ petition challenging the election officer's decision to redraw the lot for determining the outgoing members of the council deserved interference on the ground of arbitrariness or illegality.
Analysis: The election process was to be conducted in terms of the institute's regulations, under which the election officer was required to determine by lot the members to retire. The impugned redraw was ordered after it was noticed that the deceased member had been inadvertently left out of the earlier draw. The omission affected the completeness of the process for identifying the seats to retire in the relevant year. No material was shown to establish mala fides or any vested interest on the part of the election officer. In election matters, courts ordinarily do not stall an ongoing electoral process, particularly where the challenge does not disclose a clear legal infirmity.
Conclusion: The challenge to the redraw was rejected and no interference was warranted.
Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed because the court found the election officer's corrective action to be reasonable and consistent with the governing regulations, and the election process was permitted to continue.
Ratio Decidendi: Courts should not ordinarily interfere with an ongoing election process where the impugned action is a bona fide correction made to conform the process to the applicable regulations and no mala fides are established.
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