Judgment

KRISHNA IYER, J.: - This election appeal is filed by the defeated candidate. set up by the Indian National Congress, challenging the election of the 1st respondent, the candidate of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, after an unsuccessful election petition. The constituency is Nilokheri, in Haryana State. and the margin of difference was just 366 votes. The High Court negatived the petitioner s case and hence the appeal.

2. The facts of this case, along the customary course. are that the general elections to the Haryana Legislative Assembly including for the Nilokheri constituency, were held in March l972. Although ten persons filed nominations here, the contenders with muscles were the Congress and Jan Sangh candidates, victory according to the Returning Officers verdict going to the latter but given a close numerical chase by the former. (A vaguely worded application for recount on the spot was rebuffed and later a petition was filed in the case with more specificity to conform to the prescriptions gathered from the rulings of this Court). An election petition setting out the common plurality of grounds, was in due course filed some of which were discreetly abandoned at the trial an