V S VIJAYARAGHAVAN Vs. GIRIJA SURENDRAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) At the instance of the first respondent in the E.P., Issue No. 1 raised in the case are heard as a preliminary point. The said issue reads as follows:

(2.) The challenge in the petition is with regard to the election of the first respondent from No. 46 Sreekrishnapuram Assembly Constituency to the Kerala Legislative Assembly, polling of which was held on 10.5.2001 and the result declared on 13.5.2001. The petitioner in the election petition lost by 21 votes.

(3.) The case set out in the election petition is that there was improper reception of 80 votes which went in favour of the 1st respondent besides refusal to accept 147 votes which were offered, on the ground that their names were struck off from the voters list. Yet another allegation is that there was double voting by two persons. The defect pointed out by the 1st respondent is that the details of the voters under the first two heads are given only in the annexures. According to him, the petition is not maintainable not only because the details mentioned in Annexures are not given in the petition itself, but also because new grounds have been attempted to be brought in through an amendment, which is inadmissible. The first respondent also points out that it was incumbent upon the petitioner to state in the petition the source of information with regard to the allegations in the petition and that the absence thereof is a material defect which not only justifies, but also warrants rejection of the election petition. The learned counsel also relied on case law in support of his contentions.