Supreme Court Restores Election Petition: High Court Order Set Aside

The Supreme Court of India has reinstated an election petition filed by Kuldeep Singh Pathania, challenging the election results of Bhattiyat Assembly Constituency, Himachal Pradesh. The Court ruled that the High Court had wrongly dismissed the petition on the grounds of lack of material facts and cause of action.

Background of the Case

The petitioner, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, lost the 2012 election by a margin of 111 votes to Bikram Singh Jaryal. He filed an election petition under Section 100(1)(d)(iii) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, alleging irregularities in polling and counting.

Key Allegations in the Election Petition

• Exercise of dual voting rights by a voter and discrepancies between the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) records and Form 17-A at polling station No. 92-Kamla.
• Improper acceptance of 30 postal ballot papers.
• Discrepancies in the number of postal ballots counted (597 or 697).

High Court’s Ruling

The High Court dismissed the petition, stating:

“The election petition lacks material facts as required under Section 83(1)(a) of the Representation of the People Act and does not disclose any cause of action.”

The Court further ruled that the allegations did not materially affect the election results.

Supreme Court’s Observations

The Supreme Court found that the High Court had wrongly dismissed the petition without properly evaluating the petitioner’s claims. The Court held:

“The High Court committed a grave error by considering the replies filed by the respondents instead of focusing solely on the petitioner’s pleadings.”

The Court also clarified the application of Order VII Rule 11(a) of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC):

“For an enquiry under Order VII Rule 11(a), only the pleadings of the petitioner can be looked into, not the rebuttal made by the respondent.”

Final Judgment

• The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court’s dismissal of the election petition.
• The case was remitted back to the High Court for trial on merits, with directions for expedited disposal within four months.
• The Court clarified that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case.

Conclusion

This ruling reaffirms the principle that election petitions should not be dismissed prematurely and must be examined based on their content without considering the respondent’s counterarguments at the preliminary stage.

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Download Judgment: Kuldeep Singh Pathan vs Bikram Singh Jaryal Supreme Court of India Judgment Dated 24-01-2017.pdf