BRIJ MOHAN DAS AGARWAL Vs. Z A AHMAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 against an order dismissing an election petition.

(2.) The first respondent, Z.A. Ahmad, was declared elected on February 28, 1962 to the U.P. Legislative Assembly from the Kopaganj Assembly Constituency in the district of Azamgarh. An election petition challenging the validity of his election was presented by the appellant, who was one of the contesting candidates and had received the next highest number of votes in the election. The election petition was referred by the Election Commission to the Election Tribunal, Azamgarh for trial. The petition contained a number of allegations of corrupt practices, and it is admitted that when presenting it before the Election Commission no affidavit in support of these allegations was filed with it.

(3.) In his written statement and also by a separate application, the first respondent raised a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the election petition contending that as no affidavit in support of the allegations of corrupt practices and their particulars had been filed along with the petition the provisions of Section 83 of the Act had been contravened and therefore the petition was liable to be dismissed. It was also pleaded that in any event for want of the affidavit the allegations of corrupt practice should not be tried.