Judgment

R. S. SARKARIA, J.

( 1 ) THE appellant was elected as a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from 69 - Belsand Assembly Constituency, securing 30,501 votes as against 18,371 polled by his nearest rival Sri Ramanand Singh. The poll was held on 5/03/1972. A re-poll of polling stations situate in village Aura was held on 10/03/1972.

( 2 ) HARISH Chandra Mahto, respondent herein, an elector of the Constituency, filed an election petition in the Patna High Court calling in question the election of the returned candidate inter alia on the ground of undue influence exercised at several polling stations including those located at Sanbarsa, Narwana, Fatehpur and Manguraha. It was alleged that the returned candidate, his agents and supporters with the consent and connivance of the returned candidate, drove away the voters, seized the polling stations and procured bogus votes in favour of the returned candidate. In Sch. IV, appended to the election petition, the names of the voters who were allegedly restrained by the returned candidate or his agents or supporters at different polling booths on the date of the poll were mentioned.

( 3 ) THE High Court framed the issues and recorded