2005 Supreme(SC) 1612

2005(8) Supreme 547
Supreme Court of India
(From Punjab and Haryana High Court)
Y.K. Sabharwal, CJI., C.K. Thakker and P.K. Balasubramanyan, JJ.
Harkirat Singh —Appellant
versus
Amarinder Singh —Respondent
Civil Appeal No. 845 of 2005
Decided on 16-12-2005
Counsel for the Parties :
For the Appellant : P.S. Mishra, Sr. Advocate, Randhir Singh Jain, Durgainder Singh, Ms. Savita Singh, Ravi Kataria, Advocates.
For the Respondent : R.S. Cheena, Sr. Advocate, D.P. Singh and Sanjay Jain, Advocates.

Important point
An election petition must contain a concise statement of ‘material facts’ on which the petitioner relies. It should also contain ‘full particulars’ of any corrupt practice that the petitioner alleges including a full statement of names of the parties alleged to have committed such corrupt practice and the date and place of commission of such practice.

Headnote:(i) Representation of the People Act, 1951—Sections 81, 82, 83, 84, 100, 117, 123, 77 and 78—Conduct of Election Rules, 1961—Rule 90—Election Petition—Corrupt Practices—Essential ingredients—All ‘material facts’ have to be set out in the election petition—Failure to state even a single material fact will entail dismissal of suit or petition—Distinction between ‘material facts’ and ‘particulars’—An election petition seeking relief on ground of corrupt practice must precisely allege all material facts on which the petitioner relies in support of the plea.

       Held : An election petition must contain a concise statement of ‘material facts’ on which the petitioner relies. It should also contain ‘full particulars’ of any corrupt practice that the petitioner alleges including a full statement of names of the parties alleged to have committed such corrupt practice and the date and place of commission of such practice. Such election petition shall be signed by the petitioner and verified in the manner laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (hereinafter referred to as “the Code”) for the verification of pleadings. It should be accompanied by an affidavit in the prescribed form in support of allegation of such practice and particulars thereof. All material facts, therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Act, have to be set out in the election petition. If the material facts are not stated in a petition, it is liable to be dismissed on that ground as the case would be covered by clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 83 of the Act read with clause (a) of Rule 11 of Order VII of the Code. The expression ‘material facts’ has neither been defined in the Act nor in the Code. (Paras 45 to 47)

       A distinction between ‘material facts’ and ‘particulars’, however, must not be overlooked. ‘Material facts’ and primary or basic facts which must be pleaded by the plaintiff or by the defendant in support of the case set up by him either to prove his cause of action or defence. ‘Particulars’, on the other hand, are details in support of material facts pleaded by the party. They amplify, refine and embellish material facts by giving distinctive touch to the basic contours of a picture already drawn so as to make it full more clear and more informative. ‘Particulars’ thus ensure conduct of fair trial and would not take the opposite party by surprise. All ‘material facts’ must be pleaded by the party in support of the case set up by him. Since the object and purpose is to enable the opposite party to know the case he has to meet with, in the absence of pleading, a party cannot be allowed to lead evidence. Failure to state even a single material fact, hence, will entail dismissal of the suit or petition. Particulars, on the other hand, are the details of the case which is in the nature of evidence a party would be leading at the time of trial. (Paras 50 to 51)

       (ii) Representation of the People Act, 1951—Sections 81, 82, 83, 84, 100, 117, 123, 77, 78—Conduct of Election Rules, 1961—Rule 90—Election petition alleging corrupt practices—Preliminary objection raised that petitioner had failed to disclose material facts as to corrupt practice constituting cause of action—Election for constitution of Punjab Legislative Assembly—Respondent, the candidate nominated by Congress (I) Party, was declared elected—He was also elected as the leader of the Party and became the Chief Minister of Punjab—Appellant petitioner, an elector in the constituency from which respondent contested the election, filed an Election Petition u/s 81 of the Act questioning election of respondent on ground of corrupt practice as detailed in the Election Petition—Particulars of corrupt practices committed by respondent were mentioned by the petitioner in the petition—Petitioner stated that one ‘BI’ Singh was a Govt. Servant holding Class I gazetted post as Joint Director who helped the respondent immensely during the election campaign and conducting and participating personally in press conferences addressed by respondent—Whether High Court was justified in dismissing election petition on ground that material facts had not been set out in the petition—(No).

       Held : In the present case, ‘material facts’ of corrupt practice said to have been adopted by the respondent had been set out in the petition with full particulars. It has been expressly stated as to how Mr. Chahal who was a Gazetted Officer of Class I in the Government of Punjab assisted the respondent by doing several acts, as to complaints made against him by authorities and taking of disciplinary action. It has also been stated as to how a Police Officer, Mr. Mehra, who was holding the post of Superintendent of Police helped the respondent by organizing a meeting and by distributing posters. It was also alleged that correct and proper accounts of election expenses have not been maintained by the respondent. Though at the time of hearing of the appeal, the allegation as to projecting himself as ‘Maharaja of Patiala’ by the respondent had not been pressed by the learned counsel for the appellant, full particulars had been set out in the election petition in respect of other allegations. The High Court, in our opinion, was wholly unjustified in entering into the correctness or otherwise of facts stated and allegations made in the election petition and in rejecting the petition holding that it did not state material facts and thus did not disclose a cause of action. The High Court, in our considered view, stepped into prohibited area of appreciating the evidence and by entering into merits of the case which would be permissible only at the stage of trial of the election petition and not at the stage of consideration whether the election petition was maintainable. We, therefore, hold that the High Court was wrong in dismissing the election petition on the ground that material facts had not been set out in the election petition and the election petition did not disclose a cause of action. The order passed by the High Court, therefore, deserves to be quashed and set aside. (Paras 78 and 79)

       (iii) Words and Phrases—Expression ‘material facts’—‘Material’ means ‘fundamental’, ‘vital’, ‘basic’, ‘cardinal’, ‘central’, ‘crucial’, ‘decisive’, ‘essential’, ‘pivotal’, ‘indispensable’, ‘elementary’ or ‘primary’—Phrase ‘material facts’ may be said to be those facts upon which a party relies for his claim or defence—Representation of the People Act, 1951—Sections 81 and 123.

       Held : According to the dictionary meaning, ‘material’ means ‘fundamental’, ‘vital’, ‘basic’, ‘cardinal’, ‘central’, ‘crucial’, ‘decisive’, ‘essential’, ‘pivotal’, ‘indispensable’, ‘elementary’ or ‘primary’. [Burton’s Legal Thesaurus, (Third edn.); p.349]. The phrase ‘material facts’, therefore, may be said to be those facts upon which a party relies for his claim or defence. In other words, ‘material facts’ are facts upon which the plaintiff’s cause of action or the defendant’s defence depends. What particulars could be said to be ‘material facts’ would depend upon the facts of each case and no rule of universal application can be laid down. It is, however, absolutely essential that all basic and primary facts which must be proved at the trial by the party to establish the existence of a cause of action or defence are material facts and must be stated in the pleading by the party. (Paras 47)