BHUPENDRA NARAIN MANDAL Vs. EK NARAIN LAL DAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) At the last Parliamentary election from the Saharsa Parliamentary Constituency held in February, 1962, there were three contestants; one each belonging to the Socialist the Swatantra and the Congress Party. Their nomination papers had been duly accepted after scrutiny on the 22nd January, 1962. The polling was done on three dates, namely, 18th, 21st and 23rd February, 1962; and the result was announced on the 28th February 1962 when Shri Bhupendra Narain Mandal, the Socialist candidate, was declared duly elected. Thereafter, two election petitions by two voters respectively seeking for two-fold declarations, namely, (1) that the election of Shri Bhupendra Narain Mandal was void and should be set aside and (2) that Shri Lalit Narain Mishra, the Congress candidate, should be declared to have been duly elected, were presented to the Election Commission, one on the 11th April, 1962 and the other on the 16th April, 1962. The first was registered as election Petition No. 177 of 1962, and the second as Election Petition No. 296 of 1962. The petitioner in each case is an elector duly registered in the said Parliamentary constituency. The respondents, however, were the same in both the petitions: Shri Bhupendra Narain Mandal the returned candidate being respondent No. 1 and Shri Ramanugrah Jha and Shri Lalit Narain Misra, the other two contestants being respondents 2 and 3 respectively.

(2.) Both the petitions were tried together under Section 87 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") by the Election Tribunal, Patna, and have been disposed of by one Judgment dated the 9th September 1963. The learned Election Tribunal has allowed the election petitions in part; the election of respondent No. 1 Shri Bhupendra Narain Mandal has been declared to be void under Section 100(1) (b) of the Act, but the prayer that respondent No. 3 Shri Lalit Narain Mishra be declared to have been duly elected under Section 101(b) of the Act has been rejected. The Election Tribunal has further made an order under Section 99(1)(a)(ii) of the Act naming respondents Nos. 1 and 2 as persons found guilty of having committed corrupt practice within the meaning of Sub-section (3) of Section 123 of the Act.

(3.) Election Appeals Nos. 13 and 14 arising out of Election Petition No. 177 of 1962 and Election Petition No. 296 of 1962 respectively have been preferred by respondent No. 1 and are directed against the orders passed by the Election Tribunal under Section 100(1)(b) of the Act declaring his election as void and under Section 99(1)(a)(ii). of the Act naming him as one of the persons proved to have been guilty of corrupt practice. Election Appeals Nos. 15 and 16 of 1963 arising likewise out of Election Petition No. 177 of 1962 and Election Petition No. 298 of 1962 respectively have been preferred by the petitioners; Election Appeal .No. 15 of 1963 by Shri Ek Narain Lal Das and Election Appeal No. 16 of 1963 by Shri Mahendra Mishra; and both are directed against the judgment and order of the learned Election Tribunal in so far as it rejects their prayer for declaring Shri Lalit Narain Mishra, respondent No. 3, as having been duly elected. All these appeals have been made analogous and have been heard together and this judgment will govern all of them.