JALAGAM VENKAT RAO Vs. VANAMA VENKATESWARA RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed by the petitioner under Sec. 81 read with Ss. 100 and 101 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (for short, 'the R.P. Act') to declare the election of respondent No.1 as returned candidate for 117-Kothagudem Assembly Constituency as void and consequently to declare the petitioner as returned candidate for 117-Kothagudem Assembly Constituency and also to impose penalty and imprisonment against respondent No.1, for his failure to furnish information, giving false affidavit and concealing information as contemplated under Sec. 125A of the R.P. Act.

(2.) The petitioner submitted that a notification for general election to elect the legislative members to the Telangana State Legislative Assembly-2018 for 119 Assembly Constituencies was published in the Telangana Gazette No.15 on 12/11/2018 under Sec. 15 of the R.P. Act in single phase. In pursuance of the said notification, the petitioner contested the said election as member set up by Telangana Rashtra Samithi, a state political party and filed his nomination paper on 14/11/2018. The respondent No.1 also contested the said election as member set up by Indian National Congress party with the alliance and support of Telugu Desam Party & Communist Party of India. Apart from the petitioner and respondent No.1, as many as 15 other candidates also contested the said election for 117-Kothagudem Assembly Constituency. As per the election schedule, polling was held on 7/12/2018 for the 117-Kothagudem Assembly Constituency, and counting was conducted on 11/12/2018 and result was also declared on the same day. The respondent No.1 was declared elected for 117-Kothagudem Assembly Constituency by the Returning Officer.

(3.) The respondent No.1 filed written statement denying the material allegations made by the petitioner and called for strict proof of the said allegations, in questioning the impugned election of the returned candidate and contended that the election petitioner neither made out any case as per the provisions of the R.P. Act nor set out any material facts and material particulars for constituting the cause of action in questioning the election of the returned candidate as void and prayed to dismiss the election petition in limini. He contended that the respondent No.1 had neither committed any acts of omission or commission nor suppressed any material facts in the affidavit filed in the prescribed Form-26, along with the nomination paper before the Returning Officer. He further submitted that he had no knowledge about the criminal case C.C. No.263 of 2015 on the file of II Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Kothagudem (FIR No. 127 of 2014, dtd. 20/4/2014 on the file of PS Kothagudem) at the time of filing the nomination. Summons were served in the said case on the respondent No.1 subsequent to filing of the nomination paper. He further stated that the said case resulted in acquittal of the respondent No.1 in the month of October, 2019.