ARIKALA NARASA REDDY Vs. VENKATA RAM REDDY REDDYGARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals have been preferred against the impugned judgment and order dated 20.7.2012, as amended vide order dated 23.7.2012, of the High Court of Judicature of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad in Election Petition No.2 of 2009 and Recrimination Petition No.1 of 2009.

(2.) Facts and circumstances giving rise to these appeals are that:-

(3.) Shri B. Adinarayana Rao, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant has submitted that the election petition has not been decided by the High Court giving strict adherence to the provisions of the Act and the Rules framed for this purpose. It was not permissible for the High Court to go beyond the pleadings of the election petition. The entire controversy could only be in respect of 3 votes as pleaded in the election petition by the respondent no.1 which had been declared invalid and another vote which ought to have been declared invalid but had been counted in favour of the appellant as valid. It was not permissible for the High Court to count all the votes and pick up large number of votes from the bundle of invalid votes, totaling 30, or from the valid votes duly counted in favour of the appellant or the respondent no.1. Counting has to take place strictly in accordance with the rules and there was no occasion for the court to find out the intention of the voters or draw an inference in whose favour the elector wanted to vote. More so, the petition filed by the appellant had not been decided in the correct perspective. Therefore, the appeals deserve to be allowed.