Judgement

BHARGAVA, J.: This appeal under Section 116-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") has been filed by two appellants whose election petition for setting aside the election of respondent No. 1 has been dismissed by the High Court of Mysore. Appellant No. 1 was one of the candidates who filed his nomination for election to the Mysore Legislative Assembly from Shiggaon Constituency in the District of Dharwar. Appellant No. 2 was a voter in that Constituency. The notification fixing the time-schedule for the elections was issued on the 13th January, 1967, fixing 20th January, 1967 as the last date for filing nominations, 21st January, 1967 as the date of scrutiny, and 23rd January, 1967 as the last date for withdrawal of candidature. According to the appellants, only eight candidates filed their nominations within time up to 20th January, 1967. One of them was appellant No. 1. Respondent No. 1 was not included amongst the seven other candidates and his nomination paper was subsequently introduced amongst the records of the Returning Officer on behalf of respondent No. 1 with the aid of the Returning Officer. The Returning Officer is respondent No. 2 in the appeal, having been impleaded as respondent No. 2 in the election petition also. It was further pleaded that, even if any nomination paper was filed by respondent No. 1, it was not accompanied by the relevant portion of the electoral roll in which the name of respondent No. 1 appeared as a voter which was necessary, because respondent No. 1 was not a voter in this Constituency, but in a different Constituency. No deposit as required by Section 34 of the Act was made in time; and, further still, respondent No. 1 was not qualified to be chosen to fill the seat in the Legislature, because he had not made and subscribed before the person authorised in that behalf by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule to the Constitution as required by Art. 173 (a). It was alleged that, despite all these defects, respondent No. 1 was declared elected unopposed on the date of scrutiny on the incorrect ground that all other candidates had withdrawn their candidature. The appellant accepted the genuineness and validity of the withdrawals by the seven other candidates, leaving appellant No. 1 as the sole contesting candidate. The further case was that, in order to have respondent No. 1 returned unopposed, corrupt practices were committed to obtain a withdrawal form signed by appellant No. 1 and it was filed illegally before the Returning Officer.

2. The version relating to the commission of corrupt practices and to the filing of the withdrawal forms of appellant No. 1 may now be stated. The appellants allege that the whole manoeuvring was done by one Patil Puttappa, Member of Parliament, who was a staunch supporter of respondent No. 1, and by Mahalinga Shetty, the son-in-law of respondent No. 1. These two persons caught hold of two other persons, Hotti Peerasabnavar Chamensab Ghudusab (hereinafter referred to as "P. W. 3"), and Nadaf Mohamad Jafar Saheb (hereinafter referred to as "P. W. 4"), and, through them, attempted to induce appellant No. 1 to withdraw his nomination by promising to get him a long-awaited huller licence and also to get him better patronage for his bookselling business and for receiving other aid and support for his material prosperity. The appellants allege that this inducement was offered without disclosing that respondent No. 1 s candidature was spurious, For this purpose, on 20th January, 1967, at about 8-30 P. M., while appellant No. 1 was sitting at the shop of one Joshi, a car arrived from which P. W. 4 got down, came to appellant No. 1 and told him that Patil Puttappa was calling him and requesting him to go with him. Appellant No. 1 went with P. W. 4 towards the car in which Patil Puttappa was sitting. The latter asked appellant No. 1 why he