Judgment

HIDAYATULLAH, C.J.I. : This is an appeal from the judgment dated 17/18 October, 1967 of the High Court of Gujarat in an election petition filed by the present appellant. The election petition was dismissed by the Judgment under appeal.

2. The matter concerns the Petlad constituency in Kaira District from which election was to be held to the State Legislative Assembly Gujarat at the 4th General Election. The appellant was a candidate for the Swatantra Party and the respondent a candidate for the Congress Party. The poll was held on February 21, 1967 and the result of the election was declared on February 24, 1967. The appellant secured 23,795 votes and the respondent 23,981 votes. 1806 votes were declared invalid. The respondent was therefore declared elected to the seat.

3. The election petition set out a number of grounds on which the election of the returned candidate was challenged as void under the Representation of People Act. We are concerned in this appeal with only one such ground. There is also a prayer in the appeal that a general recount was wrongly disallowed by the learned Judge who decided the election petition and that it should be ordered here. We shall come t