Judgment

SAWANT, J.- This is an appeal under Section 116-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) against the judgment of the High Court of Kerala in Election Petition No. 3 of 1987, by which the election of the appellant to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Mattancherry Constituency No. 73 was declared void on the ground that the appellant had committed two corrupt practices within the meaning of Section 123(4) of the Act.

2. The admitted facts are that election to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from all the constituencies was held on March 23, 1987. The main contest in almost all the constituencies was between the United Democratic Front (UDF) consisting of Congress I, Kerala Congress, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and others on the one hand, and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) consisting of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Revolutionary Socialist Party and others on the other. The appellant was the candidate of the UDF and the first respondent was the candidate of the LDF. In the said election, the appellant was declared elected by a margin of 1873 votes over his nearest rival, the first respondent.

3. On May 8, 1987, the first respondent filed an election petition claiming a declaration that the appellants election was void and that he was entitled to be declared duly elected from the said constituency. In support of the petition, the first respondent alleged various corrupt practices on the part of the appellant. However, the High Court negatived all the said corrupt practices except two, viz. (i) printing and publication on March 22, 1987, a day prior to the election, pamphlets containing a news item in daily "Malayala Manorama" dated May 22, 1983, and (ii) publication of a wall poster, both maligning the personal character and conduct of the first respondent. The High Court held that both these acts amounted to corrupt practices within the meaning of Section 123(4) of the Act and were sufficient to void the election. The pamphlet containing the reprint of the daily "Malayala Manorama" was marked as Ex. P-1 and two photographs of the wall poster were marked as Exs. P-14 and P-15 before the High Court and would be referred to hereinafter as such. Ex. P-14 is the close up and Ex. P-15 is the distant photograph of the same wall poster.

4. Before we refer to the rival contentions and the material on record, it would be convenient if we reproduce here the contents of Ex. P-1 and Exs. P-14 and P-15 to understand the allegations made in the said documents.

5. Ex. P-1 is a reprint of a page of the issue of May 22, 1983 of a daily newspaper "Malayala Manorama". It contains the names and the photographs of four men, who were admittedly murdered in May 1983. It also carries two other photographs, one showing two killed bodies lying and the other showing the front part of the court building where allegedly all the four were killed. It also carries a photograph of the appellant with his election symbol which was ladder and a photograph of the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. Apart from the contents of the said newspaper as they appeared in the said old issue, it carries additions on the left hand, the English translation of which is as follows:

"Elect Zakharia the United Front Candidate Mattancherry

On March 23 a decisive election is taking place in our State. We wish to have a government who will protect life and property of the people. In the light of past experience the only front acquired legitimate claim to give protection is the United Democratic Front under the leadership of Congress (I). Marxist Party has only created insecurity in the country.

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The Marxist Comrades who create lawlessness and commit murders while in power and out of power, is a challenge to peace loving inhabitants of Mattancherry. Mattancherry is a constituency which has witnessed terrible cruelties of the Marxists. The Mattancherry Town, once the centre of commerce, today became equal to a gr