( 1 ) THIS is an appeal under Section 116-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, (hereinafter referred to as the Act) from a decision of the Election Tribunal, rajnandgaon, declaring the election of the appellant Satya Prakash to the House of the People from Bilaspur parliamentary Constituency void on the ground that the respondent Bashir Ahmed's nomination had been improperly and illegally rejected.

( 2 ) THE material facts are not in dispute. The appellant Satya Prakash, the respondent Bashir Ahmed ana three other persons were candidates for election to the House of the People from the Bilaspur Parliamentary Constituency. On 22nd january 1962, the date fixed for the scrutiny of nomination papers, one ramashankar Tiwari, who had proposed the appellant, raised the objection that the respondent Bashir Ahmed's nomination was not valid as he was a shareholder in "the Combined Transport Services (Pvt.) Ltd. , Bilaspur," (hereinafter referred to as the Company), which had entered into a contract with the Centra] Government to carry post mail bags and articles on theremuneration mentioned in the contract and was thus disqualified for membership of Parliament under