RAMA KANT PANDEY Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -By the present application under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the constitutional validity of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1992 (Ordinance No. 1 of 1992) and the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 1992 (Ordinance No. 2 of 1992), on the grounds of violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21. By the first Ordinance, Section 52 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (the Act) providing for countermanding elections in certain circumstances has been amended. By the second Ordinance the period of 20 days in Section 30 of the Act has been reduced to 14 days. Later, when the Parliament met, the amendments were incorporated by an amending Act.

(2.) The provisions of Section 52, as they stood before the amendment, provided for countermanding the election in either of 2 contingencies - (i) if a candidate whose nomination was found valid on scrutiny under Section 36 or who has not withdrawn his candidature under Section 37 died and a report of his death was received before the publication of the list of contesting candidates under Section 38, (ii) if a contesting candidates died and a report of his death was received before the commencement of the poll. On countermanding the Returning Officer will have to report the fact to the Election Commission; and all proceedings with reference to the election will have to be commenced de novo in all respects as if for a new election. By the first Ordinance, the area attracting the provisions of countermanding has been narrowed down by confining the provisions only to such cases where a candidate of a recognized political party dies.

(3.) Section 30 deals with appointment of dates for nomination, scrutiny and the holding of poll, and in clause (d) it is provided that the date of poll shall not be earlier than the twentieth day after the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures. With a view to expedite the whole process the words "twentieth day" have been substituted by the words "fourteenth day" in the said clause by the impugned Ordinance.