MANOJ KUMAR AGRAWAL Vs. ARCHANA CHITNIS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition, election of the returned candidate viz. the respondent to the M.P. Legislative Assembly Constituency No.180 Burhanpur (for short "the Constituency") has been called in question on the ground mentioned in Section 100(1)(b) of Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). The reliefs claimed therein are as follows

(2.) The following calendar of events for the said election was notified on 31/10/2008 -

(3.) As many as 14 candidates including the petitioner and the respondent contested the election. The petitioner was in the fray as an authorized candidate of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) whereas the respondent was fielded as the official candidate of Bhartiya Janta Party, the then Ruling Party in the State. During the election campaign of the respondent, poster in question (Ex-P-3), which contained appeal to the electorate to vote for her was distributed. As indicated therein, in all 1000 such posters were published by Mukesh Dewada, a party worker, with consent of the respondent and the charges incurred in publication thereof were also included in the accounts of expenditure furnished to the District Election Officer. In the final result-sheet prepared in Form 20 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, the votes secured by the independent candidates as well as the candidates representing various political parties were reflected as under <FRM>JUDGEMENT_108_MPHT2_2012_1.html</FRM>