The court affirmed that a social activist can file a complaint regarding electoral integrity, and the limitation period for such complaints was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ORDER :

P.Velmurugan, J.

This Criminal Revision Case has been filed by the petitioner to set aside the order passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate No.1, Salem, invoking Section 156(3) of Cr.P.C., in online C.M.P. No.540 of 2023 (C.M.P.No.1302 of 2023) dated 26.04.2023.

2. The short facts of the case are as follows:-

The second respondent filed a private complaint before the learned Judicial Magistrate No.1, Salem, under Sections 190 and 200 of the Cr.P.C. against the petitioner herein under Section 125A of the Representation of the People Act, alleging that on 26.02.2021, the Election Commission of India announced a General Election to the Tamil Nadu State Legislative Assembly, scheduling the poll for 06.04.2021. Subsequently, the contesting candidates filed their nominations with supporting documents before the concerned Returning Officers as per the requirements of the Election Commission of India, within the timeline fixed by them. As per Rule 4 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, a candidate contesting an election must file his nomination paper in Form 2B along with an affidavit in Form 26, in accordance with Section 33(1) and 33A(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Any false declaration or concealment of information in the nomination papers and affidavit attracts an offence under Section 125A of the Act. On 15.03.2021, the petitioner/accused filed his nomination papers and affidavit before the Returning Officer as per Rule 4 and Rule 4A of the Conduct of Election Rules to contest in the 86-Edappadi Assembly Constituency on behalf of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party. On 22.03.2021, after scrutiny of the nomination papers, the petitioner/accused was allotted the 'Two Leaves' symbol, which is a reserved symbol for AIADMK. There were 28 candidates, including the petitioner/accused, contesting for the 86-Edappadi Assembly Constituency. The election was conducted on 06.04.2021, and on 02.05.2021, the votes for all constituencies, including the 86-Edappadi Assembly Constituency, were counted. On the same day, it was declared that the petitioner/accused won the election with 1,63,154 votes in his favour, and thus the petitioner/accused was elected from the 86-Edappadi Assembly Constituency. The affidavits in Form 26 of the candidates were uploaded to the official website of the Election Commission of India. The complainant/second respondent, being a social activist and an interested person in politics, analysed the election results and the background details of the candidates by downloading their affidavits in Form 26 from the official website of the Election Commission of India. Upon reviewing the documents, he noticed that the petitioner/accused had filed a false affidavit before the Election Commission by suppressing details about his assets, including movable and immovable properties, occupation, sources of income, the real market value of properties, educational qualifications, and furnishing false information wilfully with the intent to secure election in the 86-Edappadi Assembly Constituency. The learned Magistrate took cognizance of the complaint, and after inquiry, directed the first respondent police to investigate the case in a fair manner and register a case if a prima facie case was made out. Challenging this, the petitioner has filed the present petition.

3. The learned senior counsel for the petitioner submits that the second respondent is neither a candidate contesting from the said constituency nor a voter in the constituency from which the petitioner contested. As the complainant is not an aggrieved person, he has no locus standi to prefer the complaint under Sections 190 and 200 of the Cr.P.C. for an offence under Section 25 of the Representation of the People Act. The learned senior counsel further submits that Section 125A of the Representation of the People Act provides that any act of filing a false affidavit is punishable with imprisonment for a term of up to six