GURA SINGH Vs. AJAIB SINGH BHATTI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Pursuant to the issuance of a notification dated 18.1.2007 by the Election Commission of India (hereinafter referred to as "the Commission"), elections were announced for electing the representatives to the Punjab Legislative Assembly. Petitioner herein, a nominee of the Shiromani Akali Dal, contested the election from the Nathana Assembly Constituency and ended up as the first runners up, loosing at the hustings to the respondent, a candidate who entered the fray as a nominee of the Indian National Congress. The petitioner polled 52207 votes; while the respondent obtained 58857 votes. Others performed poorly and lost their security deposits.

(2.) The petitioner herein has applied for the invalidation of the result on an averment that the respondent had committed gross corrupt practices in terms of the provisions of Section 123 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"). The petitioner cited the following clarificatory instances which, as per him, affected the election result and which, in turn, amounted to corrupt practices which (corrupt practices) would justify the invalidation of the impugned election.

(3.) The Dera Sacha Sauda, "a religion/community established about 50 years" ago and presently having its head office at Sirsa, has a following of over 20 lacs voters in the State of Punjab. The Dera Sacha Sauda has predominance essentially in the Malwa belt (consisting of Districts of Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Roopnagar etc.) and its followers are uniformly available in all those districts. Each constituency "has approximately 25,000 followers". Even in the Nathana assembly constituency, the Dera Sacha Sauda has over 25,000 followers who (followers) are described as 'Premis'. A congregation attended by them is described as 'Sadh Sangat'. The Dera Sacha Sauda head is addressed as 'Pita jee' and the Premis "act according to his dictums and sermons." This religion i.e. Dera Sacha Sauda has its own "religious and cultural system", besides having its white coloured flag and own token/currency system which enables the followers to make purchases at the Dera Sacha Sauda. 'Sach Kahun', a daily published by the Dera Sacha Sauda, has a wide circulation amongst its followers. The Dera Sacha Sauda has local congregation venues in the State of Punjab including a big dera in the area of village Salabatpura which, though a part of Rampura Phul constituency, is at a distance of about 15 Kilometers from the outer boundary of Nathana constituency. The religion aforementioned is distinct from the other religions (i.e. Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Christian, Parsi religion etc.) inasmuch as the former does not permit intermingling of the followers with other religions and the 'Premis' function within their own water-tight compartment; while things are otherwise in the other religions.