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2017 Supreme(AP) 647

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT HYDERABAD FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AND THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH
A. RAJASEKHAR REDDY, J.
Kothapalli Geetha – Appellant
Versus
Gummidi Sandhya Rani and Ors – Respondent
EA Nos. 11 and 12 of 2015 in EP No. 30 of 2014
Decided On : 02-06-2017

Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellant : D.V. Seetharama Murthy for Chetluru Sreenivas.
For the Respondents: J. Satya Prasad.

Headnote:

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 - Order 7, Rule 11 - Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 - Section 86, 83(1)(a) , 4(b), 100(1)(a) - Election application - Representation of Peoples - Reject the election petition - Ground of lack of cause of action - Returned candidate - General elections she contested the election to the seat of Member of Parliament from Araku parliamentary constituency, seat a reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) and having emerged as a successful candidate was declared elected as Member of Parliament. That as per Section 83(1)(a) of the RP Act, the plaint of the election petition should contain a concise statement of material facts on which the election petitioner relies and such a statement of material facts is mandatory to maintain the election petition. That in the instant case, no such concise statement of material facts is stated by the election petitioner in the plaint and the election petition filed by the election petitioner does not disclose any cause of action and, therefore, the election petition is liable to be rejected for want of lack of cause of action - Held, Which are details of statement of facts of case and Annexures I to IX filed therewith are details and documents filed in support averments of the election petition. The relevance or otherwise of those contents will have to be tested during the course of trial of the election petition and not at this stage. If those paras are struck off at this stage, nothing remains for consideration in the election petition. However, it is to be noticed that in the grounds of the election petition, there is no pleading to the effect that improper acceptance of the nomination by the returning officer materially affected by reason of improper acceptance of such nomination - it is incumbent on the part of the election petitioner to allege, how the said improper acceptance of nomination or the non-compliance of the provisions materially affected the result of the returned candidate. Mere quoting the provision of law, without there being a pleading in support of that ground, the ground raised under Section 100(1)(d)(i) of the RP Act is not available to the election petitioner. Hence, the pleadings and ground raised under Section 100(1)(d)(i) of the RP Act for setting aside election, to that extent only is struck off, while maintaining the other grounds. allowed to the extent indicated above.

ORDER :

A. RAJASEKHAR REDDY, J.

1. 1st respondent in the EP No. 30 of 2014 filed this election application, being E.A. No. 11 of 2015, under Order 7, Rule 11 CPC, read with Section 86 of Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, (for short, 'the RP Act') to reject the election petition filed by the election petitioner-1st respondent herein, (hereinafter referred to as 'election petitioner') on the ground of lack of cause of action. The case of the petitioner herein (hereinafter referred to as 'returned candidate') is that in the general elections she contested the election to the seat of Member of Parliament from Araku parliamentary constituency, seat a reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) and having emerged as a successful candidate was declared elected as Member of Parliament on 16.5.2014. That as per Section 83(1)(a) of the RP Act, the plaint of the election petition should contain a concise statement of material facts on which the election petitioner relies and such a statement of material facts is mandatory to maintain the election petition. That in the instant case, no such concise statement of material facts is stated by the election petitioner in the plaint and the election petition filed by the election petitioner does not disclose any cause of action and, therefore, the election petition is liable to be rejected for want of lack of cause of action.

2. It is further case of the returned candidate that she contested from Araku (ST) Parliamentary constituency on the basis of a caste certificate issued by the competent authority and she has been recognised as belonging to the community of Scheduled Tribe all through her education and she was also appointed as Deputy Collector based on her social status certificate of Scheduled Tribe. That her social status certificate was not questioned by the election petitioner and there is no pleading or a concise statement of facts that the social status certificate produced by the returned candidate is not genuine. That in the absence of such a pleading, this Court has no jurisdiction to determine whether the social status certificate is genuine or not and whether the returned candidate belongs to Scheduled Tribe or not. That the competent authority under the Andhra Pradesh (SC, ST, BC) Regulation of Issue of Community Certificate Act, 1993 (for short, 'the Act') and the rules made there under alone can go into the genuineness or otherwise of the caste certificate and can take action based on the outcome of the enquiry. That as on date, the social status certificate issued to the returned candidate by the competent authority is in force and as such is valid in the eye of law. That the election petitioner has not made any allegation of corrupt practice either against the returned candidate or the returning officer, except stating that the returned candidate does not belong to Scheduled Tribe and not eligible to contest to a seat which is reserved for Scheduled Tribe. That election petitioner has not stated which provision of law is violated by the returning officer in accepting the nomination of the returned candidate. The allegation of the election petitioner that the returned candidate has been claiming differently at different points of time and recorded as Mala, Christian, Adi-Andhra etc., are false and incorrect, whereas the returned candidate has been claiming her social status as Scheduled Tribe all through her life and all educational records show her as belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST). That the election petition is based on surmises and conjectures and is filed needlessly to harass and not allowing her to concentrate on the developmental works in the constituency.

3. Counter-affidavit is filed by the election petitioner, inter alia, stating that the returned candidate belonged to Mala caste which is not included in the presidential order i.e., list of Scheduled Tribes, but she is claiming herself as belonging to Scheduled Tribe i.e., Valmiki. That under Section 4(b) of the RP Act, th




























































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