(1.) The primary relief sought in this petition is to declare the election of returned candidate Bhojraj Nag who was declared elected in the by-election of Chhattisgarh State Legislative Assembly Area No.79 of Antagarh Constituency as held on 13.09.2014.
(2.) The instant petition is under Sections 80 and 80-A read with section 81 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1951). The grounds which are urged in this petition are that respondent No.1 has resorted to corrupt practice thereby the result of election is liable to be set aside.
(3.) The brief facts of the case are that initially in the year 2013, the general election to the Antagarh Legislative Assembly was conducted by the Election Commission. The present election petition is concerned with the result of by-election of Legislative Assembly Area no.79 of Antagarh Constituency held on 13.09.2014. After the initial election of 2013, the returned candidate who was elected in the year 2013 had vacated the seat therefore new notification for election was issued. The election commission thereafter issued notification on 20.08.2014 to conduct by-election for the Antagarh Constituency and the following dates were fixed for conducting the election :