( 1. ) THIS election petition under sections 80 and 81 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 calls into question the election of the respondent Beti Joga to the Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh from the konta Constituency in the General Elections held in March 1972. This constituency is reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

( 2. ) THE petitioner Jogaya was a rival candidate at the election as a congress nominee. The respondent was a Jansangh nominee. The petitioner alleges that the respondents name was not entered in the electoral roll in force at the relevant time and, therefore, he was not qualified to stand as a candidate under section 5 of the Act. It is also alleged that the name of the respondent is Beti Joga out of which Beti is his familys surname. The entry in the relevant electoral roll on which reliance is placed by the respondent mentions the name beti Hadma. The contention of the petitioner is that Beti hadma is the name of the father of the respondent and not of the respondent. In his written statement the respondent contends that he is known by two names Beti and Joga, and that Beti is not a surname. According to him pudiyami is the surname of his family.

( 3. ) ON the pleadings of the parties the following issues were framed :

(1.) Is the correct name of the respondent Beti Joga and not Beti alias joga ?

(2) Is the name of the respondents father Beti Hadma or simply hadma ? (3) Was the respondent entered in the electoral roll as an elector ? (4) Was the nomination paper of the respondent wrongly accepted by the Returning Officer ? all the issues are interconnected and the evidence is also common, therefore, it would be convenient to discuss the entire evidence together.

( 4. ) THE respondent had also successfully contested the General Elections held in the years 1962 and 1967. It has been admitted by the respondent in his evidence that in the electoral roll in force at the time of the General Elections of 1962 his name was shown as Beti Joga Hadma. It is admitted that hadma is the name of the father of the respondent. In the electoral roll for the elections of 1967 which is Ex. P-4 the respondents name was also shown as Beti Joga Hadma. I have already said that the entry in the electoral roll for the elections of 1972, on which reliance is placed by the respondent and on the basis of which the Returning Officer accepted his nomination paper, mentions the name of the elector as Beti Hadma (Exs. P-3 and R-1a ).

( 5. ) THE respondent is a resident of village Idjepal in Bastar District. Ex. P-6 is a certified copy of Jamabandi of village Idjepal for the year 1934-35 which mentions Beti Hadma s/o Ganga Madiya as a tenant. Ex. P-13 is a certified copy of the index of Jamabandi for the year 1934-35 of village Idjepal. It contains names of tenants in a serial number. At serial number 12 Beti hadma S/o Ganga Madiya is entered as a tenant. Ex. P-5 is a certified copy of Kistbandi khatauni for the year 1969-70 of village Idjepal. In this document beti Joga S/o Hadma, Beti Ganga S/o Hadma, Beti Lakhama S/o Hadma and beti Kosa S/o Hadma are shown as tenants. The documents Exs. P-5 and P-6 have been admitted by the learned counsel for the respondent (see order-sheet dated 18-12-1972 ). It is not disputed that the name of the respondents father was Hadma and the name of the father of Hadma was Ganga. It is also not disputed that Ganga, Lakhama and Kosa are three other brothers of the respondent. It will be noticed that in Exs. P-6 and P-13 the name of the respondents father is entered as Beti Hadma and in Ex. P-5 the names of the respondent and his brothers are entered as Beti Joga, Beti Ganga, Beti Lakhama and Beti Kosa. These entries strongly show that Beti is a surname which is prefixed to the name of every person in the family of the respondent.

( 6. ) LEARNED counsel for the respondent has referred to Exs. R-2 and r-3. Ex. R-2 is a certified, copy of Jamabandi for the year 1967-68 and ex. R-3 is a certified cop