JUDGMENT

GUPTA, J.:—The appellant contested unsuccessfully the election to Haryana Vidhan Sabha from Pataudi Constituency held in March 1972. Poll was taken on March 11, 1972, counting took place the next day i. e. March 12 following which the first respondent was declared elected. The appellant presented an election petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the election of the first respondent on several grounds of which only three have been pressed in this appeal. All the grounds urged before us relate to corrupt practices as defined in subsections (2), (3), (4), and (7) (d) of Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

2. Sec. 123 (2) provides that undue influence meaning any direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere on the part of the candidate or his agent, or of any other person with the consent of the candidate or his election agent, with the free exercise of any electoral right shall be deemed to be corrupt practice for the purposes of the Act. This clause has a proviso which says inter alia that any person who threatens any candidate or an elector or any person in whom a candidate or an elector is interested, with injury of any kind shall be deemed to interfere with the free exercise of the electoral right of such candidate or elector within the meaning of this clause. The allegations under this head are set out in paragraph 12 (i) of the election petition which reads as follows:

"That from village Babra, a group of Ahir electors led by Lila son of Makhan including Dhanpat son of Mangal Singh, Hukam Chand son of Mani Ram and Dalip Singh Lambardar went to Polling Station No. 19 at village Jaraula at about 1 P. M. on the 11th March. 1972 in order to poll their votes. When Hukam Chand, Lila, Dhanpat and others were standing in the queue for the purpose of exercising their right of franchise; Umed Singh an agent of respdt. No. 1 on being asked and told by Dhanpat that he would vote for the candidate of Vishal Haryana Party, pushed him out of the queue and told him that if Congress candidate, respondent No. 1 is not voted for by him, then he would not be allowed to vote. On altercation between them Sultan son of Ram Bal, Jat of village Jaraula, Ram Kala son of Maru, Manhar son of Kanhaya and Ganga Datt son of Kishan, who were active supporters and workers of Respondent No. 1 assaulted Dhanpat and Lila by lathis resulting in several injuries on their persons. The polling agent of the petitioner complained the incident to the presiding officer but to no effect. Then the said two injured persons helplessly left the spot and were medically examined at about 3.15 P. M. at Primary Health Centre, Pataudi on 11th March, 1972 and a report was also submitted to the Police Station Farrukh Nagar for necessary action in the matter. On being threatened by the agent and supporters of respondent No. 1 in the same manner, quite a number of voters of village Babra returned without polling their votes and thus they were directly and indirectly interfered with in the free exercise of their electoral rights at the instance of respondent No. 1 and his agent and supporters. It 933 may be mentioned here that Respondent No. 1 had visited the Polling Station just about half an hour before the incident and had told his agent and these persons to see that Babra voters are not allowed to poll their votes."

It should be mentioned that the polling station at Jaraula served for two villages, Jaraula and Babra: admittedly, Jaraula is inhabited predominently by Jats and Babra by Ahirs. The appellant is an Ahir and the first respondent is a Jat. Lila Ram who was one of the two injured as a result of the alleged assault by the supporters of the first respondent, deposed as P. W. 6. He is of village Babra. His evidence is that on the date of poll he came to the polling station accompanied by Dhanpat, Hukam, Dalip who were all witnesses and two or three other voters. After he had fixed his thumb impression on the cou