Judgment :

Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, J.–

1. Leave granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.

2. The simple yet important question of law that have arisen in these appeals before us and which have serious ramifications on the maintenance of sanctity in our democracy is as to whether the Election Commission, under Section 10A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, can conduct an enquiry to determine the falsity of the return of election expenses by an elected candidate, especially after a decision is rendered by the High Court in the Election Petition preferred by the Respondent No. 1.

3. On the aforesaid background, let us briefly examine the facts of this case. The appeal (@ SLP (C) No. 29882 of 2011) has been filed by the candidate who was elected in the Assembly elections in the State of Maharashtra. The results of the election to the Assembly were declared on 22.10.2009. The Respondent No. 1 was one of the candidates who contested the said election as against the Appellant. The Appellant was declared elected and the Respondent No. 1 was an unsuccessful candidate. As per the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Conduct of Election Rule