A PALANIYAPPA CHETTIAR Vs. KNKRISHNASWAMI CHETTIAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner asks this Court to set aside the order of the Lower Court in O. P. No. 7 of 1924 on its file. That was a petition under the Election Rules framed under the Madras District Municipalities Act V of 1920 to set aside the election of the present petitioner held on nth February, 1924 for a ward in the Erode Municipality, and for other incidental reliefs.

(2.) The Lower Court found that the petitioner, who was the Vice-Chairman of the Municipality and was acting as Chairman during the temporary absence of the Chairman, had broken Rule 32 of the Rules for the conduct of elections of Municipal Councillors in that he, in the matter of the nomination of candidates for the vacancy in this ward, had himself scrutinised and passed his own nomination paper. Whether in thus holding that there was a breach of Rule 32 he did find at all or did properly find that this violation had materially affected the result of the election and therefore he had jurisdiction to set aside the election, is the chief point argued before us.

(3.) At one stage in its order the Lower Court seems to hold that the mere breach of the rule itself rendered the election void and, therefore, " there is no need to consider whether the result of the election was materially affected". Later on it holds that, as the result of the petitioner's breach of the rules was that voters voted for a candidate who was not validly nominated, the result of the election was materially affected. The two findings seem different aspects of the same conclusion rather than two different conclusions.