JUDGMENT

CHINNAPPA REDDY, J. :— Shri Kripal Singh was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly from Majitha Constituency at the general elections held in 1972. His election was set aside by High Court in an Election Petition filed by one of the defeated candidates on the ground that the nomination paper of another candidate was improperly rejected by the Returning Officer. The nomination paper of one Basant Singh had been rejected on the ground that Basant Singh was a development officer in the employment of the Life Insurance Corporation and was therefore ineligible to seek election to the Assembly under the Staff Regulations of the Life Insurance Corporation. The High Court took the view that if Basant Singh defied the Staff Regulations and sought election to the Assembly he might have made himself liable to disciplinary action but that did not disqualify him from seeking election to the Assembly. So the nomination paper of Basant Singh was held to have been improperly rejected and the election of Kripal Singh was set aside. His election having been set aside he appealed to this Court under Section 116-A of the Representation of the People Act. While admitting the appeal this Court made an interim order enabling the appellant to attend the Assembly and sign the register, without participating in the proceedings or voting and without drawing any remuneration. Without meaning any disrespect to the learned judges who made the interim order we think that where an election is set aside for no fault of his, such as a corrupt practice committed by him or his agent or a disqualification suffered by him, but on the ground that someone elses nomination had been improperly rejected, the more appropriate order would perhaps be to grant an absolute stay so that the Constituency may not go unrepresented for no fault of either the elected or those who elected.

2. Subsequent to the filing of the appeal, there have been three more general elections. The present appeal has thus become wholly infructuous, indeed a sad commentary on the legal process. Though the question raised is an important one which may arise again and again in the future we do not propose to make any pronouncement upon it since we think the matter is one which should receive the consideration of the Parliament and suitable legislation be enacted. Under Art. 191(1) of the Constitution a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being a member of the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council of a State -

(a) if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State specified in the First Schedule, other than an office declared by the Legislature of the State by law not to disqualify its holder;

(b) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent Court;

(c) if he is an undischarged insolvent;

(d) if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or is under any acknowledgment of allegiance. or adherence to a foreign State;

(e) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament.

Chapter III of the Representation of the People Act which certainly is a law made by Parliament within the meaning of Art. 191 (1)(e) of the Constitution enumerates some further grounds of disqualification for membership of Parliament and State Assemblies. In particular we may refer to Section 10 which says,

"Disqualification for office under Government Company - A person shall be disqualified if, and for so long as, he is a managing agent, manager or secretary of any company or corporation (other than a cooperative society) in the capital of which the appropriate Government has not less than twenty-five per cent share."

3. The clear and undoubted object of Art. 191(1)(a) to (e) and the provisions of the Representation of the People Act (including S. 10) is the preservation. of the purity and integrity of the election process by preventing Government or State employees from taking