Judgment

MITTER, J.:- On April 6, 1967 the appellant before us, filed an Election petition in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh challenging the election of the first respondent, B. N. Reddi to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Kollapur Constituency inter alia on the ground of corrupt practices committed by him, his election agent, polling agents and other workers mentioned in the schedule to the petition with his consent and praying for a declaration that the second respondent, K. Ranga Das was duly elected from the said constituency. The third respondent was another candidate who had contested the election but had fared very badly. The first respondent secured 25,321 votes at the election overtopping the votes polled by the second respondent by approximately 1,600. The petitioners stated in paragraph 5 of the petition that one V. K. Reddi who had filed his nomination payer had been made to withdraw his candidature by the first respondent on payment of an illegal gratification of a sum of Rs. 10,000. This allegation was repeated in paragraph 10. The first respondent was also charged with other corrupt practices in diverse other paragraphs of the petition.

2. The first respondent put in his written statement on 28th June, 1967; the second respondent put in his counter affidavit on June 26, 1967. The issues were settled on July 24, 1967. On August 4,1967 the petitioners filed Application No. 161/1967 for impleading V. K. Reddi. Thereafter they wanted to withdraw that application when the examination of witnesses had commenced. On August 7, 1967 this application was dismissed. On August 8, 1967 the first respondent filed Application No. 169/1967 praying for dismissal of the petition on the ground that although V. K. Reddi had been charged with corrupt practices he had not been impleaded as a party to the petition which was liable to be dismissed under the provisions of Section 82 (b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as the Act ) in compliance with S. 86 (1). The election petitioners filed Application No. 187 of 1967 for withdrawing the allegations against V. K. Reddi, or, in the alternative to implead him as a respondent. They also filed Application No. 186/1967 for condoning the delay in seeking to implead V. K. Reddi in Application No. 187/1967. The second respondent filed a number of applications of which it is necessary to take note of a few only. Application No. 174/1967 was filed for condoning the delay in seeking to implead V. K. Reddi in Application No. 175/1967. Application No. 175/1967 was for the purpose of impleading V. K. Reddi as a party respondent to the election petition.

3. The learned trial Judge held that the allegations contained in the election petition amounted to an imputation of corrupt practice to V. K. Reddi and although of the view that the prayer in Application No. 169/1967 for condonation of delay was allowable in suitable cases, he felt himself bound by the decision of Kumarayya, J., in Applications Nos. 150-155/1967 in Election Petition No. 11 of 1967 and dismissed the amendment application No. 169/1967.

4. Before us a faint attempt was made to argue that the allegation against V. K. Reddi did not amount to a charge of corrupt practice but that it was the first respondent who was guilty of such a practice by making the payment of illegal gratification. The argument has only to be set down to be rejected. In paragraph 5 of the petition the definite averment was that V. K. Reddi had been made to withdraw his candidature by the first respondent on payment of an illegal gratification of Rs.10,000/-. If the payment of Rs. 10,000 amounts to an illegal gratification the taint attaches not only to the payer, the first respondent but also to the payee, V. K. Reddi.

5. The second point urged was that the learned Chief Justice s view in regard to the power of condonation of delay in impleading V. K. Reddi was correct and although he could not give effect to his