JUDGMENT

CHANDRACHUD, J. :—This is an appeal under Section 116A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 from the judgment of the Patna High Court dated May 9, 1974 in Election Petition No. 42 of 1972.

2. On March 29, 1972 the Election Commission issued a notification calling upon the Mazaffarpur Local Authorities Constituency to elect one member to the Bihar Legislative Council. That Constituency consists of the Municipalities of Muzaffarpur. Sitamarhi, Hajipur and Lalganj and the Notified Area Committees of Mahnar and Dumra. We are concerned in this appeal with the Notified Area Committee of Dumra only. According to the programme notified by the Election Commission, the last date for filing nominations was April 5, 1972. The poll was held on April 30 and the result of the election was declared on May 1, 1972. Respondent 1 Ram Bilas Jha, an independent candidate, secured the highest number of votes, namely 61whereas his nearest rival respondent 5, Mahanth Raghunath Das, a Congress (R) candidate, secured 36 votes. Respondent 1 was accordingly declared elected.

3. The appellant Ramji Prasad Singh was a voter for the election being a member or commissioner of the Sitamarhi Municipality. On 14-6-1972 he filed an election petition in the Patan High Court challenging the election of respondent 1 on various grounds. Before us, appellant restricted his challenge to the following two grounds :-

(1) Forty voters of the Dumra Notified Area Committee were illegally prevented from exercising their franchise, which materially affected the result of the election; and

(2) Respondent 1 attempted to bribe two voters, Sri Narain Prasad and Ram Swarath Raut, thereby rendering his election void under Section 100 (1) (b) read with Section 123 (1) (A) (b) of the Act of 1951.

The High Court having rejected these contentions the election petitioner has filed this appeal.

4. It is necessary to state certain important facts for a proper appreciation of the question involved in the first of the two points mentioned above. By notification No. 2708/LSG dated may 5, 1971 the Government of Bihar had nominated 40 persons to be members or commissioners of the Dumra Notified Area Committee. All of them were duly enrolled as voters in the electoral roll of the Muzaffarpur Local Authorities constituency. On April 4, 1972 the State Government issued a Notification, No. 2934, cancelling the notification dated May 5, 1971. By another notification, No. 2935, of even date, viz., April 4, 1972 the State Government nominated 40 other persons named therein as members of the Dumra Notified Area Committee.

5. Immediately after the issuance of the two notifications of April 4, 1972 some of the sitting members of the Dumra N. A. Committee, who ceased to be members by reason of these notifications, filed writ petition No. 150 of 1972 in the Patna High Court challenging the validity of the notifications. A rule was issued in that writ petition on April 14, 1972 and by an interim order, the operation of notification No. 2934 by which the notification of May 5, 1971 was cancelled, was stayed till the disposal of the writ petition.

6. After the High Court issued the stay order, a petition was moved before Shri A. N. Bose, the District Magistrate of Muzaffarpur, asking that the names of the 40 members which were removed from the electoral roll pursuant to the notification issued by the State Government should be re-incorporated therein. Shri Bose who was functioning ex officio as the District Election Officer, Electoral Registration Officer and the Returning Officer for the purposes of the particular election sent a Teleprinter message (Ex. 7) on April 21, 1972 to the Chief Electoral Officer, Patna, stating that since the last date for filing nominations was long since past, the names of the old members which were already removed from the electoral roll could not be re-incorporated therein but that it would be in contempt of the High Court if elections were to be held on the basis o