Judgment

BACHAWAT, J.:- This appeal is directed against a judgment of a Single Judge of the Gujarat High Court setting aside the election of the appellant from the Banskantha Parliamentary constituency. At the last general election to the Lok Sabha from the Banskantha constituency in Gujarat there were three contesting candidates. The appellant, the Swatantra party candidate, secured 1,10,028 votes. Respondent No. 2, the Congress party candidate secured 1,05,621 votes. Respondent No. 3, an independent candidate secured 14,265 votes. The appellant was declared elected.

2. The election petition was filed by respondent No. 1, an elector in the constituency. Respondent No. 1 alleged a number of corrupt practices on the part of the appellant or his election agents, but at the trial, he pressed only the charge of corrupt practice under Section 123 (2) Proviso (a) (ii) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. In the petition the charge was that several persons with the consent of the appellant or his election agents induced or attempted to induce the electors to believe that if they voted for the Congress Party candidate they would become the objects of divine displeasure and spiritual censure. In the particulars of this charge it was alleged that in the public meetings held at Amirgadh, Ikbalgadh, Wav; Laxmipura; Tharad, Bhabhar and other places one Shambhu Maharaj told the electors that if they voted for the Congress candidate they would commit the sin of cow slaughter and urged them in the name of mother cow to take a vow not to vote for the Congress candidate with the result that several members of the audience publicly took the vow.

3. At a late stage of the trial on March 7, 1968, the High Court gave leave to respondent No. 1 to amend the petition by adding fresh particulars of the corrupt practice. The substance of the new charge was that at those meetings Shambhu Maharaj induced or attempted to induce the electors to believe that their religious head Jagadguru Shankaracharya had commanded them not to vote for the Congress and that contravention of his command would be a sin and would be visited with spritual censure and divine displeasure, the High Court found that the aforesaid corrupt practice was committed by Shambhu Maharaj with the consent of one Punmbhai, the election agent of the appellant, and declared the appellant s, election to be void.

4. The appellant challenges the legality of the order passed by the High Court on March 7, 1968 allowing the amendment. The election petition was filed on April 10, 1967. The appellant filed his written statement on June 1; on September 9, the High Court gave leave to respondent No. 1 to amend the petition, by adding the charge that certain persons were threatened that they would commit the sins of go-hatya, Bramhahatya and Sadhu-hatya, if they worked for the Congress candidate. The order disallowed amendments seeking to introduce charges of appeal to voters in the name of religion under Section 123 (3). The appellant filed his additional written statement on October l9. Issues were framed on November 30. Respondent No. 1 filed his list of witnesses on January 11, 1968. On February 21, the trial started and P. W. 1, P. W. 2; P. W. 3 and P. W. 4 were examined. P. W. 4, Ram Swarup was a witness with regard to the meeting at Amirgadh. The issues were amended on March 1, so as to make it clear that there was no charge of any corrupt practice under Section 123 (3). On the same date, respondent No, 1 was examined as P. W. 5. On March 2, P. W. 6, P. W. 7, P. W. 8 and P. W. 9 were examined. P. W. 7 and P. W. 8 spoke about the meetings at Palanpur and Bhabhar. P. W. 9 Bhogilal spoke about the meeting at Ikbalgadh. On March 4, P. W. 10 and P. W. 11 Were examined and spoke about the meetings at Wav and Laxmipura. On the same day, P. W. 12 S. P. Pandya, a Sub-Inspector of Police at Palanpur, and P. W. 13, C. B. Barot, a short-hand writer were examined. The examination of Barot was concluded