JUDGMENT

A. K. Patnaik, J. —

This is an appeal under Section 116A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (for short ‘the Act’) against the common order dated 26.07.2010 of the Kerala High Court in Election Petition Nos. 3 of 2009, 7 of 2009 and 8 of 2009 declaring the election of the appellant to the House of People from the Mavelikkara Parliamentary Constituency reserved for the Scheduled Castes void under Section 100 (1)(a) and (d) (i) of the Act.

2. The facts very briefly are that No.16 Mavelikkara Parliamentary Constituency is reserved for the Scheduled Castes. Section 4(a) of the Act provides that a person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the House of the People unless in the case of a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes in any State, he is a member of any of the Scheduled Castes, whether of that State or of any other State and is an elector for any Parliamentary Constituency. For elections to the Mavelikkara reserved constituency in the year 2009, the appellant filed his nominations before the Returning Officer on 23.03.2009 declaring in the nomination papers that he belongs to the Hindu Cheramar Caste and filed alongwith the nomination papers