SHAH ALIM UDDIN Vs. SATISH CHANDRA AGARWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AT the last General Election for the membership of the Rajasthan Legislative assembly from the Jaipur Johari Bazar Constituency No. 15, held on 25-2-1957, shri Satish Chandra Agar-wal was declared a returned candidate on 9-3-1957. Mr. Shah Alim Uddin, one of the unsuccessful candidates, presented an election petition before the Election Commission on 20-4-1957, under Section 81 of the representation of the People Act, 1951 (Act No. XLIII of 1951 ). Besides the returned candidate, Mr. Satish Chanclra Agarwal, four other persons, mr. Ghaffar Ali, Mr. Kewal Chand, Mr. Shyam Lal Verma and Mr. Arvind Kumar, who were contesting candidates, were made respondents. The prayer in the petition was that the election of respondent No. 1, Mr. Satish Chandra Agarwal, the returned candidate, be declared void, and further that the petitioner, Mr. Shah alimuddin, who had secured the highest number of valid votes be declared to have been duly elected from the said constituency. The Election Commission by letter of 1-5-1957, called upon the petitioner, Mr. Shah Alimuddin, to show cause why the election petition be not dismissed, because of the non-joinder of one Mr. Kanhaiyalal Saksena, who was said to be also a contesting candidate. The petitioner gave his explanation, and was personally heard, and the Election Commission passed an order on 10-5-1957, as follows:

(2.) ON notice being issued, respondent No. 1, Mr. Satish Chandra Agarwal, raised an objection that the application be dismissed under Section 90 (3) of the representation of the People Act (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") because of the non-joinder of Mr. Kanhaiyalai Saksena, who was a contesting candidate. It was urged on behalf of Mr. Shah Alimud-din that Mr. Kanhaiya Lal Saksena was not a contesting candidate, because he had retired from the contest under Section 55-A of the Act, and was on that account not a necessary party to the elec-tion petition. An application was also moved by Mr. Shah Alimuddin on 23-7-1957, by which he waited permission to amend his petition so as to delete the relief for declaration that he should be declared to have been duly elected. A further application was moved that in case the leave was not granted to abandon the said relief, he may be permitted to join Mr. Kanhaiyalai Saksena as a respondent in the petition.

(3.) THE learned Election Tribunal disallowed the two applications, and held the objection as to non-joinder of Mr. Kanhaiyalal Saksena in the election petition to be fatal to that petition. It accordingly dismissed the election petition on 27-8 1957.