Representation of People Act, 1951

The appellant, a voter, challenged the election of the respondent, a Lok Sabha MP, alleging disqualification under Section 100(1)(a) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 on the ground that he was a director of the Maharashtra Seeds Corporation, a government‑owned company. The High Court held that the respondent wa…

The appellant, Sri T. Phunzathang, filed an election petition challenging the election of Sri Hangkhanilian on the ground of alleged corrupt practice under Section 123 of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The respondent contended that the copies of affidavits served on him lacked the Oath Commissioner’s endorseme…

The case arose from a private complaint alleging that the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) filed a false affidavit with the Election Commission of India, contradicting its constitution submitted to the Gurudwara Election Commission, thereby violating the secularism requirement of Section 29‑A of the Representation of People…

In the 2000 Haryana Assembly election, Kartar Singh Bhadana was declared elected, but the runner‑up, Hari Singh Nalwa, filed a petition alleging that Bhadana held five mining leases and was therefore disqualified under Section 9‑A of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The Punjab and Haryana High Court held that a …

The Association for Democratic Reforms and Common Cause filed two interlocutory applications seeking a stay on the sale of electoral bonds under the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018, alleging that the scheme permits donor anonymity and violates transparency in political funding. The Court examined the scheme’s statutory bas…

Patangrao Kadam challenged the election of Prithviraj Yadav Deshmukh in a Maharashtra Assembly by‑election, alleging corrupt practices under Sections 100(1)(b), 100(1)(d)(ii), 100(1)(d)(iv) read with Section 123(4) of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The petition also named Sampatrao Chavan, a duly nominated can…

In the Metropolitan Council election from the Narela constituency, Hari Ram was declared elected with 12,369 votes, defeating Hira Singh who secured 12,131 votes. Hira Singh filed an election petition and, at the interlocutory stage, sought an order directing the Returning Officer to produce the marked electoral rolls …

In the 1987 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, M.J. Zakharia (appellant) was declared elected over T.M. Mohammed (first respondent). The respondent filed an election petition alleging two corrupt practices: a pamphlet re‑printing a 1983 newspaper item and a wall‑poster accusing the respondent of murder, both claimed…

Dr. Sunil Kumar Singh, an MLC from the RJD, was expelled from the Bihar Legislative Council after the Ethics Committee found his conduct unparliamentary and his subsequent refusal to cooperate with the Committee. He challenged the expulsion through a writ petition under Article 32, arguing that the Ethics Committee's p…

In the Channagiri Legislative Assembly election, Subhan Khan's nomination was rejected because he had not taken the oath required under Article 173 of the Constitution on the day of scrutiny. He argued that an oath taken earlier on 27 October 1994 in another constituency (Davanagere) should suffice, and the High Court …

The petitioners challenged the constitutional validity of the proclamation dated 23rd May 2005 dissolving the Bihar Legislative Assembly under Article 356 of the Constitution. The Governor had reported that attempts were being made to cobble a majority through illegal means like horse-trading and allurements, and recom…

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…

The appellant, Sh. Bhogendra Jha, was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha from Madhubani, Bihar. Two other candidates, Pawan Kumar Pathak (PW‑4) and Lal Bahadur Singh (PW‑6), had their nominations rejected by the Returning Officer because the proposers' names and electoral‑roll numbers did not match the electoral roll. The r…

The Supreme Court dismissed writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Representation of People (Amendment) Act, 2003, which amended the Representation of People Act, 1951 to remove the requirement of domicile/residence in a State for election to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and introduced an …

Baldev Singh Mann challenged the election of Surjit Singh Dhiman, alleging that Dhiman had procured assistance from gazetted officers for his campaign, constituting a corrupt practice under section 123(7) of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The High Court dismissed the petition, finding that Mann failed to prove…

The appellant challenged the election of respondent No.1 to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on the ground that the Returning Officer had improperly accepted the respondent's nomination form, which contained blank columns and lacked signatures on each page, violating the Representation of People Act, 1951. The r…

The petitioners challenged the election of Ajit Pawar to the Baramati Assembly seat, alleging that the Returning Officer shifted ballot boxes from a high school to a recreation hall without informing candidates, with the motive of substituting genuine ballot papers with fakes. They also claimed missing Presiding Office…

The Supreme Court examined an appeal against the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order upholding the rejection of a candidate’s nomination in a bye‑election. The Election Commission had instructed Returning Officers to require candidates to fill a proforma disclosing information relevant to disqualification under Section 8…

The Chairman of the Standing Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) feared a delay in elections to the new municipal body whose term was due to expire on 15 October 2005, and filed a writ petition seeking a mandamus directing the State Election Commission and the State Government to hold elections before th…

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 Supreme Court examined an election petition challenging the Lok Sabha election of Datta Raghobaji Meghe on allegations that he exceeded the permissible election‑expenditure limit and committed corrupt practices. The Court reiterated that the right to elect and be elected is a statutory right governed strictly by th…

The appellant, T.M. Jacob, was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly and faced an election petition filed by C. Poulose alleging corrupt practices. The petition included an affidavit in Form 25, but the copy of the affidavit served on Jacob omitted the notary’s name, address, stamp and seal, though it bore the end…

The appellant, S. Rukmini Madegowda, was elected as a councillor (later mayor) of the Mysore Municipal Corporation. She filed an affidavit of assets that falsely omitted her husband's property, violating the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act (KMC Act) and the Representation of People Act (RP Act). An election petiti…

The Supreme Court examined an election petition that challenged Dr. Das Rao Deshmukh's 1990 election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on the ground of corrupt practices under Sections 123(3) and 123(3A) of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The petition alleged that the appellant, a Shiv Sena‑BJP candidate,…

The Election Commission issued a notification for a bye‑election to the Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency and, after a reference by the Returning Officer, directed a repoll at certain polling stations, which was carried out. The election result was challenged before an election petition, and the High Court set aside …

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, M.R. Gopalakrishnan, contested the election of Thachady Prabhakaran to the Kerala Legislative Assembly, alleging that the counting of votes was irregular due to a cramped hall, that postal ballots were improperly rejected, that double voting and impersonation occurred, and that the respondent committed c…

The respondent, Abhay Kumar Singh, filed a nomination for a Bihar Legislative Council seat but the Returning Officer rejected his papers for not attaching the current electoral roll required under Section 33(5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, as he belonged to a different constituency. The High Court set asi…

In the 1995 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, both the appellant Baburao and the first respondent Manikrao filed nominations from Nilanga constituency. The respondent's name appeared in the electoral rolls of both Nilanga and Latur constituencies. Baburao objected, claiming that this dual entry disqualified t…

In the 2000 Bihar Assembly election for Sitamarhi, petitioner Hari Shankar Prasad lost to Shahid Ali Khan by 35 votes. The Returning Officer rejected 90 ballot papers marked with a distinguishing‑mark stamp, deeming them invalid, despite a directive from the Election Commission that such ballots should be counted if th…

In the 1982 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election, N. Horangse was declared elected over M. Tsubongse. Tsubongse filed an election petition alleging that Horangse committed corrupt practice by presenting four red waist‑coats to village leaders to induce their votes, invoking sections 123(1), 123(3A) and 123(6) of the …

Pradyut Bordoloi, a Clerk Grade‑I in Coal India Ltd., filed his nomination for the Margherita Legislative Assembly seat. A complaint alleged that his employment constituted an "office of profit" under the Government of India, invoking disqualification under Article 191(1)(a) of the Constitution and Section 10 of the Re…

Kripa Shankar Chatterjee, who lost the 1990 Nirsa Assembly election, filed an election petition challenging the election of Gurudas Chatterjee on four grounds: alleged improper rejection of a nomination paper on age grounds, alleged improper acceptance of nomination papers of two non‑voters, alleged disqualification of…

Ajit Singh challenged the 1991 Haryana Vidhan Sabha election of Bansi Singh under Section 81 of the Representation of People Act, alleging irregularities in vote counting, including a fenced counting hall that restricted agents' view, police presence, the appointment of counting assistants who were relatives of the ret…

The Supreme Court heard a public‑interest writ petition filed by Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan seeking pre‑emptive orders against hate speeches by elected representatives, arguing that such speeches violate Articles 14, 15, 19, 21 and fundamental duties. The Court examined whether existing statutes—IPC, SC/ST (Prevention of…

In a Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election for a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes, the appellant challenged the election of the respondent on the ground that the respondent was not a member of a Scheduled Caste. The election petition relied on various statements about the respondent's caste certificates and all…

The Supreme Court had earlier declared the Electoral Bond Scheme unconstitutional and directed the State Bank of India (SBI), as the authorized bank, to furnish the Election Commission of India (ECI) with details of each bond purchased and redeemed between 12 April 2019 and 15 February 2024. SBI filed a Miscellaneous A…

The parties to a family arbitration agreement divided joint family property among six branches, with a retired district judge acting as arbitrator. After the award was registered, objections were filed, and later amended to include new allegations of arbitrator misconduct. The High Court set aside the award on grounds …

In the 1997 Punjab Vidhan Sabha election, three candidates, including Sunil Kumar, filed nomination papers as BJP candidates. The Returning Officer (RO) raised a suo motu objection that the BJP had set up more than one candidate and rejected all three nominations. Sunil Kumar applied under Section 36(5) of the Represen…

The appellant challenged the election of Subash Kallur, alleging that he was disqualified under Section 9A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 because a contract with the Karnataka Irrigation Department subsisted on the date of election (5 September 1999). Kallur contended that he had terminated the contract befo…

The Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) appealed against a High Court order that declared the Government Orders (GOMs) of 31‑12‑1997 and the 27‑12‑2007 notification, which used a 1:50 shortlisting ratio irrespective of community, ultra vires Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court examine…

The appellant, Abdulrasakh, was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in May 2016. Two voters filed an election petition under Section 123(4) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 alleging corrupt practices, and presented the petition on 1 July 2016. The High Court Registry returned the petition for defects; i…

In the 1982 Kerala Legislative Assembly election for Eravipuram, appellant A. Younus Kunju lost to R.S. Unni by 789 votes and filed a petition alleging corrupt practices under Section 123(4) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, claiming that Unni's election agent Azeez published a hand‑bill falsely accusing Kunju…

The appellant, Mohd. Abdullah Azam Khan, was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 2017, but the election petitioner challenged his eligibility on the ground that he was under 25 years of age at the time of filing his nomination. The dispute centered on conflicting birth dates shown in two birth certific…

The case concerned an election for Chairman of a Gram Panchayat in Punjab where the initial poll resulted in a tie and the process was adjourned due to law‑and‑order problems. The Returning Officer fixed a new date for the continuation of the election, but the respondent argued that only the State Election Commission c…

The Election Commission of India sought to requisition a large number of officers and staff of the State Bank of India for election duties under Article 324(6) of the Constitution. The State Bank Staff Association challenged the requisition, arguing that the Commission had no power under Section 26 of the Representatio…

The respondent, defeated in the 1991 Lok Sabha election, filed an election petition alleging corrupt practices under Sections 123(2), 123(3) and 123(3A) of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The appellant sought dismissal on three grounds: (i) the alleged corrupt acts occurred before he was a "candidate" as define…

In the 1997 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, Ranjit Singh (appellant) lost to Harmohinder Singh Pradhan (respondent). Singh filed an election petition alleging that Pradhan was disqualified under Section 9‑A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 because he held a subsisting contract for the sale of liquor with…

The appellant Sitaram was elected Chairperson of a municipal corporation, but the defeated candidate Radhey Shyam Vishnav filed an election petition under the Rajasthan Municipalities Election Petition Rules, 2009. The petition was filed without the mandatory treasury challan of Rs 1,000 required by Rule 3(5)(d). The a…

The appellant, Dharmvir, was elected to the Haryana Legislative Assembly from the Toshan constituency in June 1987. Petitioners alleged that during the counting of votes, Dharmvir's agents double‑marked, defaced and mutilated ballot papers cast for the rival candidate, Bansi Lal, and intimidated the Returning Officer t…

The appellant, N. Balaji, challenged the election of directors of the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India Ltd., alleging irregularities in the voters list. After multiple representations to the Minister and the Central Registrar and a writ petition, the Delhi High Court directed the Central Registrar to …

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 appellant, M.Y. Ghorpade, challenged the Karnataka High Court's order that his election petition was maintainable despite the security for costs of Rs.2,000 being deposited by the respondent's election agent rather than the petitioner himself. The central issue was whether Section 117 of the Representation of Peopl…

Rajendra Kumar Meshram was elected to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Deosar constituency. A petition was filed by the opposing candidate alleging that Meshram's nomination was improperly accepted because he failed to furnish the electoral roll of the constituency where he was a registered voter (Singr…

The appellant, an independent candidate, filed an election petition challenging the acceptance of nomination papers of the other candidates on the ground that their affidavits were not in the prescribed format required under the Representation of People Act and Election Commission directions. The High Court dismissed t…

U.C. Raman challenged the election of P.T.A. Rahim, who was Chairperson of the Kerala State Haj Committee, on the ground that the post constituted an "office of profit" under Article 191(1)(a) and thus disqualified him from contesting the Kerala Legislative Assembly election. The High Court held that the position was n…

In the 1995 Bihar Legislative Assembly election for the Bokaro constituency, the Returning Officer rejected the nomination papers of two workers, a Khalasi and a Meter Reader employed by Bokaro Steel Plant, on the ground that they were "managing agents" of the plant and thus disqualified under Section 10 of the Represe…

In a Himachal Pradesh assembly election, Mahendra Pal (appellant) lost to Ram Dass Malanger (respondent) by three votes. The appellant claimed a discrepancy of eight votes between the total ballots recorded in Form 20‑A (35,310) and the round‑wise count (35,318) and sought a recount under Section 100(1)(d)(iii) of the …