Judgment

MUKHERJEA, J. : This appeal, which has come before us on special leave, is directed against the judgment and order of the Election Tribunal, Jabalpur at Nagpur, dated the 30th April 1953, whereby the Tribunal declared the election held on the 29th December 1951, for the double member Lakhnadon Legislative Assembly Constituency, to be wholly void under section 100 (1) (c) of the Representation of the People Act (hereinafter called The Act ).

2. To appreciate the contentions that have been raised by the parities to this appeal, it would be necessary to state briefly the material facts. The Laknadon Legislative Assembly Constituency in Madhya Pradesh is a double member constituency, one of the seats in which is reserved for scheduled tribes. The appellant and respondent Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 7 were duly nominated candidates for the general seat in the said constituency, while respondents Nos. 2, 4 and 6 were nominated for the reserved seat.

No objection was taken before the Returning Officer in respect of the nomination of either the appellant or respondent No. 2 Vasant Rao. Out of these eight candidates, respondent Nos. 5, 6 and 7 withdrew their candidature within the prescribed pe