Judgment

MUDHOLKAR, J. :- The short point for consideration in this appeal from the judgment of the Punjab High Court is whether the Election Tribunal, Rohtak, was justified in dismissing the election petition under sub-section (3) of S. 90 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereafter referred to as the Act) preferred by the appellant on the ground that it did not comply with the provisions of S. 82 of the Act.

2. The appellant is a voter in 64-Hissar City constituency of the Punjab Legislative Assembly and the respondent was a candidate for election to the Assembly from the constituency, the polling in which took place on February 24, 1962. Eleven persons had been nominated for election from that constituency, one of whom was Suraj Bhan, brother of the respondent. Five candidates, including Suraj Bhan, withdrew their candidature within the time prescribed for the purpose with the result that names of only six candidates were published under S.38 of the Act. Several grounds were set out by the appellant in his election petition for setting aside the election. One of those grounds was that the respondent, his agents and other persons acting with the consent of the respondent were guilty of committing corrupt practices. In paragraph 9(c)(i) of the petition as presented to the Election Commission on April 8, 1962 the appellant had alleged as follows :

"That the respondent by himself and through his agents with his consent has been guilty of the corrupt practice of promoting or attempting to promote feelings of enmity and hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on grounds of religion, community and language. The respondent was in fact a candidate sponsored by Shri Devi Lal of Chautala a rebel Punjab Congress leader who had left the Congress fold and joined hand with Professor Sher Singh, Leader of the Hariana Lok Samiti. The very creed of this Samiti was the promotion of or attempt to promote feelings of enmity and hatred between the residents of the Punjab region and residents of Hindi region. This Samiti has in a way divided the Punjab State into two communities Punjabis and non-Punjabis. The chief target of the leaders, workers, candidates sponsored by the Samiti and their agents and workers were the Congress candidates, who were pitched against them in every constituency of the Hindi region whom they described as being the henchmen of Shri Pratap Singh Kairon, the Chief Minister of the Punjab, who according to respondent and his agents was a staunch Sikh and Chief supporter of the cause of the residents of Punjabi region at the cost of the residents of the Hindi region, and specially the non-Sikhs among them. They described the Congress candidate Shri Balwant Rai in this constituency as being an enemy of the residents of Hindi region specially and non-Sikh residents of the Hindi region and preached that if elected he would be a great obstacle in the way of the non-Sikh residents of the Hindi region and would be a cause of the death knell of Hindi language as well. This poisonous propaganda on the basis of two communities Punjabis and non-Punjabis and also on the basis of two religious Sikhs and non-Sikhs and on the basis of two languages Hindi and Punjabi was resorted to by the respondent, his chief agent Shri Devi Lal with his consent throughout the constituency right from the date of the filing of the nomination paper by the respondent up to the date of poll through the various pamphlets, posters and the writings in the paper titled as Hariana Kesri a mouthpiece of the ideology of Shri Devi Lal rebel congress leader. These pamphlets, posters and newspapers containing the poisonous propaganda were got published by the respondent or by the office of the group headed by Ch. Devi Lal from the office of the Hariana Kesri controlled by Shri Devi Lal with the consent of the respondent and got distributed by the respondent through his workers and agents throughout the constituency at a large scale. The