ORDER :- This election petition arises out of the election in respect of the seat for the Lok Sabha from Bombay North-West Constituency No.8 in the election held in March 1977. There were six contesting candidates including the petitioner and respondents Nos. 1 and 2 in respect of this seat. As per the results declared by the Returning Officer, respondent No. 1, Ram Jethmalani secured 2,46,446 votes, respondent No. 2, H. R. Gokhale secured 1,52,947 votes and the petitioner secured 1,721 votes. The other candidates secured a smaller number of votes than these three. The Returning Officer, therefore, declared respondent No. 1 to have been duly elected. In this petition, the petitioner has prayed, inter alia, that the election of respondent No. 1 be declared to be null and void, that respondent No. 2 be declared as disqualified and the petitioner be declared to have been duly elected and returned to the Parliament from the Bombay North-West Constituency No. 8 (hereinafter referred to as ' the said Constituency' ).

2. As the petition is being disposed of on a preliminary issue, it will be sufficient to set out only such averments in the petition and the written statements and such fac

Click Here to Read the rest of this document