Conduct of Election Rules, 1961

The appellant, elected as MLA from Moirang constituency, was challenged by the respondent on the ground that the appellant had falsely declared an MBA degree in Form 26, constituting a false declaration of educational qualification. The High Court held the false declaration to be a substantial defect and declared the a…

The Supreme Court entertained a writ petition filed by People's Union for Civil Liberties and others challenging Rules 41(2), 41(3) and 49‑0 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which required a presiding officer to record a remark and obtain the voter’s signature/thumb impression when the voter chose not to cast a …

The appellant, P.A. Mohammed Riyas, contested the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Kozhikode and filed an election petition alleging that the respondent, M.K. Raghavan, committed corrupt practice by publishing false statements, invoking Sections 81, 100, 101 and 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The petiti…

Lok Prahari, a society, challenged the constitutional validity of Rule 39-AA of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and the proviso to Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, alleging violations of Article 80(4), Article 14 of the Constitution and Section 123(2) of the Act. The petitioner argued that …

The Association for Democratic Reforms challenged the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with VVPAT, seeking a return to paper ballots, physical hand‑over of VVPAT slips to voters, and 100% VVPAT counting, alleging possible manipulation. The Supreme Court examined the technical architecture of EVMs, the safeguard…

The appellant Kalyan Singh Chouhan, declared elected by a margin of one vote in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election, challenged the High Court's order rejecting his application to summon all ten tendered votes, arguing that the entire set should be examined to prevent miscarriage of justice. The respondent C.P.…

The appellant, a returned candidate to the Manipur Legislative Assembly, was challenged by the unsuccessful candidate who filed an election petition alleging corrupt practices, including non‑disclosure of a financial transaction. The appellant moved applications under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC and Section 86 of the Re…

Govind Singh, a former Social Security Minister, resigned on 12 January 2002 and filed his nomination as an independent candidate on 23 January 2002. He was elected MLA from the Sherpur (SC) constituency on 13 February 2002. The defeated candidate, Harchand Kaur, filed an election petition alleging that Singh had indul…

The petition filed by Shailesh Manubhai Parmar, the Chief Whip of the INC in Gujarat, challenged the Election Commission's circulars that introduced the "None of the Above" (NOTA) option in Rajya Sabha (Council of States) elections. The Court examined whether NOTA, which was introduced for direct elections to Parliamen…

The appellant, a third wife of a deceased MLA from the Mishmi tribe, filed a nomination for a 2019 assembly election and marked ‘not applicable’ in Form‑26 for the spouse‑property column. The respondent challenged the nomination, alleging non‑disclosure of the deceased husband’s assets, which he claimed constituted a s…

In the biennial Rajya Sabha election from Jharkhand, MLA Amit Kumar Mahto cast his vote at 9:15 a.m. on 23 March 2018, but was convicted later that afternoon. The petitioner, Pradeep Kumar Sonthalia, challenged the validity of that vote, arguing that the conviction rendered Mahto disqualified under Article 191(1)(e) of…

In the Maharashtra Legislative Council election, Ashok lost to Rajendra by four votes and filed an election petition alleging that at least five of the fourteen votes counted were improperly received because voters were accompanied by another person, violating Rule 39 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. The High Co…

The petitioners, including Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, challenged the constitutional validity of the 2000 amendment to the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, which required a political party to secure at least 6% of the state's valid votes and win at least two legislative seats to be recogn…

In the 2006 Assam Legislative Assembly election, polling station No.124 was initially set up at a non‑notified school and later shifted to the notified venue. The defeated candidate, Kalyan Kumar Gogoi, alleged that this change caused chaos, preventing 200‑300 voters from casting their votes and materially affected the…

The Supreme Court examined eleven writ petitions and three special leave petitions filed by registered unrecognised political parties seeking a common election symbol for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The parties challenged several provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968…

The case concerned an election petition filed by Sharadendu Tiwari challenging the election of Ajay Arjun Singh. The dispute centered on whether the petition was accompanied by an affidavit in the statutory Form 25 as required by the proviso to Section 83(1)(c) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and whether…

In a 2019 Lok Sabha election for the Hassan constituency, the appellant A. Manju, who finished second, filed an election petition under Section 81 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 alleging that the elected candidate, Prajwal Revanna, had committed corrupt practices by filing a false affidavit and concealing ma…

The appellant, a Member of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, was elected from the Saikul constituency in 2022. The respondent filed an election petition alleging that the appellant concealed assets worth about Rs. 2 crore and falsified her income, thereby committing corrupt practices. The appellant moved an application…

C.P. John, a losing candidate, filed an election petition challenging the election of Babu M. Palissery on grounds of bribery, false pamphlet distribution and alleged suppression of criminal convictions. The High Court dismissed the petition, holding it lacked material facts and was non‑compliant with Section 83 of the…

Kameng Dolo was elected unopposed to the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly after the other candidate, Atum Welly, allegedly withdrew his candidature. The High Court held that the withdrawal notice did not comply with the requirements of Section 37 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and declared Dolo's e…

In the 2019 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, independent candidate Karikho Kri was elected from Tezu (ST) constituency. Nuney Tayang challenged the election, alleging that Kri failed to disclose three vehicles, a no‑dues certificate for government accommodation, and municipal/property tax liabilities, t…

Dr. Subramanian Swamy filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a mandamus directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to incorporate a voter‑verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) in electronic voting machines (EVMs) to allow voters to confirm their votes. The High Court dismissed the petition, prompting an ap…

The appellant, Karim Uddin Barbhuiya, contested the dismissal of his application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC seeking rejection of an election petition filed by Aminul Haque Laskar alleging false statements in the appellant's nomination affidavit and improper acceptance of his nomination. The Supreme Court examined whet…

The case concerned an election petition challenging the 2009 Lok Sabha election of G.M. Siddeshwar, wherein the petitioner Prasanna Kumar alleged corrupt practices. The petitioner filed an affidavit in the form prescribed by Rule 94‑A (Form No.25) but the affidavit was not in exact format and the verification was defec…

The appellant, a returned candidate, appealed a High Court order that refused to dismiss an election petition filed by the respondent alleging irregularities in vote counting. The Supreme Court examined whether the petition disclosed a cause of action and could be struck out at the threshold, and whether the lack of an…

The appellant, K.K. Ramachandran Master, filed an election petition under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 challenging the election of M.V. Sreyam Kumar on grounds of corrupt practices alleged under Sections 123(4), 123(5) and 123(6). The High Court dismissed the petition, holding that it failed to disclose m…

The Supreme Court considered three appeals challenging orders of the Election Commission that disqualified elected candidates under Section 1OA of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 for allegedly failing to lodge true and correct accounts of election expenses. The Court examined the statutory scheme, the Conduc…

The appeal concerned the election of Krishnamoorthy as President of Thekampatti Panchayat, where he had filed a nomination affidavit disclosing only one pending criminal case while suppressing eight other embezzlement cases. The High Court had declared his election void on the ground of corrupt practice, holding that t…

The Supreme Court examined an election petition filed under Section 100(1)(d)(iv) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which alleged that the returned candidate, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, had suppressed her spouse's PAN and income‑tax details in Form 26. The Court held that the petition contained only vague, bal…

The appellant, a returned candidate, challenged an election petition filed by the respondent alleging corrupt practices under Sections 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The High Court, despite noting deficiencies in the petition, directed the respondent to amend the pleadings and verify them, rather th…

In the 25‑Champua Assembly constituency, an independent candidate died after the withdrawal deadline but before polling, yet his name remained on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and he received 550 votes. The election petitioner alleged that, had the deceased candidate’s name been masked, those votes would have gon…

The appellant, Markio Tado, was elected to the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly and the respondent, Takam Sorang, filed an election petition alleging booth capturing. During the trial the respondent sought, via two interlocutory applications, production of voters' counterfoils (Form 17A) from 38 polling stations …

Satish Ukey filed a criminal complaint under Section 125-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 alleging that MLA Devendra Fadnavis concealed two criminal cases in his Form‑26 affidavit, where cognizance had been taken by the courts. The trial court dismissed the complaint, a Sessions Court remanded it for fre…