SAIN DASS Vs. TULSI RAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS election petition u/s 88 and 89 of the J&K Representation of People Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) for declaring void the election of respondent Tulsi Ram to the J&K Legislative Assembly from 64 March (S.C.) Constituency has been brought by one Sain Dass who is an elector duly recorded in the Electoral Rolls of the said constituency. The result of the election of the said constituency declaring the respondent as elected therefrom was declared on 4th July 1977. In the election petition it has been alleged that the election of respondent be declared void because the respondent is alleged to be guilty of having committed corrupt practices during the elections. The election petition was filed on 18th August 1977 and the written statement was filed on 5th Nov: 1977 and on the basis of the pleadings of the parties three preliminary issues with regard to the maintainability of the election petition were framed on 9 -12 -1977. Before arguments could be heard with regard to these three issues, it was on 26 -12 -1977 that the respondent filed an application seeking permission to amend the written statement. Objections to this petition for amendment were filed by the petitioner on 12 -1 -1978 and the matter was deferred to 24 -1 -1978 for arguments to be heard with regard to this application. On that date however, the petitioner also filed an application for permission to amend the petition so as to enable him to give better particulars of the corrupt practices allegedly committed by the respondent. The other side filed objections to this application. The particulars desired to be furnished by the petitioner which he wanted to incorporate in the election petition have been enumerated in the application of the petitioner dated 10 -2 -1978.

(2.) IN this order it is proposed to dispose of the application of the petitioner dated 10 -2 -1978 which has been filed u/s 94(5) of the Act and under Order 6 Rule 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(3.) THE election of the respondent from the March constituency (S.C.) to the J&K Legislative Assembly has been challenged on grounds of corrupt practices alleged to have been committed by the respondent. The statement to this effect is contained in Sub -paras (a) and (b) of Para 7 and Para 8 of the election petition. Briefly stated the allegations are that the respondent has filed false accounts of expenses which he incurred during the elections with the authority concerned and that the expenses incurred by him in taking on hirebuses, trucks, jeeps, Scooters etc and the expenses incurred by the respondent on purchase of petrol diesel and also the expenditure incurred by him for arranging a procession to be taken out in his favour in furtherance of his election campaign have not been shown in the statement of expenses which the respondent submitted to the authority concerned. According to the petitioner, had these amounts been shown in the statement of accounts, it would have been clear that the amount spent by the respondent during the elections have exceeded the amount permissible to be spent under the Act and the Rules framed thereunder.