IMPORTANT POINT
Test for whether a copy is true copy is: (1) to find out whether there is any variation from the original calculated to mislead an ordinary person, and (2) whether there is substantial compliance with the requirements of Section 81(3).

JUDGMENT

A.M. Khanwilkar, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. These appeals take exception to the judgment and order dated 20th April, 2018 passed by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad, in Election Application Nos.2, 3 and 6 of 2017 in Election Petition No.1 of 2017. By the said order, the High Court dismissed all the three applications preferred by the appellant seeking dismissal of Election Petition No.1 of 2017 at the threshold.

3. Election Petition No.1 of 2017 has been filed by respondent No.1 challenging the election of the appellant to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) held on 8th August, 2017, by the members of the Legislative Assembly of Gujarat, on the ground that the appellant had committed corrupt practices of "bribery” and “undue influence” within the meaning of sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (for short “the Act”) and also on the ground that two valid votes were illegally and improperly rejected by the Returning Officer and at the same time, two invalid votes were accepted by the said officer, which has materially affected the results of the election. The election petition came to be filed on 18th August, 2017 much before the last date of limitation.

4. The appellant was served with the summons on 7th September, 2017 to appear in the election petition, pursuant to the order of the High Court dated 21st August, 2017. The appellant filed his written statement on 4th October, 2017 and also filed the stated three applications for dismissal of the election petition at the threshold. The first application was numbered as Election Application No.2 of 2017, wherein the appellant had prayed for dismissal of the election petition primarily on the ground of non-compliance of Rules 282 (ii) and (iii) of the Gujarat High Court Rules, 1993, as there was no order to rectify such non-compliance as contemplated under Rule 284 and the time provided therefor in the later portion of Rule 283 had elapsed. In other words, the election petition was required to be dismissed for non-removal of office objections raised by the office/registry of the High Court, in exercise of power under Rule 284 after recalling the order dated 21st August, 2017. The second application was numbered as Election Application No.3 of 2017, praying for dismissal of the election petition on the ground of non-compliance of the provisions of the Act read with the Gujarat High Court Rules, 1993, as well as the provisions of Order XIX Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure (“CPC”). The grounds urged in the application were ascribable to dismissal of the election petition under Section 86(1) read with Sections 81(3), 83(1)(c) and 83(2) of the Act as well as the provisions of CPC and the High Court Rules. The third application, being Election Application No.6 of 2017, was also for dismissal of the election petition at the threshold under Order VII Rules 11(a) and (d) of CPC, for non-disclosure of the cause of action in the election petition and the petition being barred by law. As aforesaid, all the three election applications have been rejected by the High Court vide common impugned judgment.

5. The appellant, being aggrieved by the said decision of the High Court, has filed these appeals by special leave. We shall deal with the challenge to the impugned judgment in reference to the concerned application in seriatim.

6. Reverting to the first application i.e. Election Application No.2 of 2017, the High Court, in substance, opined that the averments in the said application preferred by the appellant were vague and unsubstantiated. It found that the appellant was not sure as to whether the office objections had been removed or not, when the application was filed by him. Further, there was no specific averment in the application as to which objection raised by the office/registry of the High Court was not removed. All that had been stated in the application was that the objections which were raised by the office were not re