Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
T. N. ANGAMI
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
SMT. RAVOLUEU
DATE OF JUDGMENT02/02/1971
BENCH:
RAY, A.N.
BENCH:
RAY, A.N.
MITTER, G.K.
CITATION:
1972 AIR 2367 1971 SCR (3) 659
1971 SCC (1) 592
ACT:
Representation of the People Act, 1951-Corrupt Practice-
Hospitality and courtesy cannot be equated with corrupt
practice-Chief Ministetredressing grievances of people
cannot be said to offer inducement for getting votes.
HEADNOTE:
The appellant was elected to the Nagaland legislative
assembly. He was at the time of his election Chief Minister
of the State. The, respondent challenged the election of
the appellant on the grounds : (i) the appellant incurred or
authorised the incurring of expenditure beyond the
prescribed limit in contravention of s. 77 of the Act and
thereby committed corrupt practice within the meaning of s.
123(6) of the Act, (ii) he offered inducements to the
electors by giving feasts and entertaining them and (iii) he
distributed bundles of Corrugated iron Sheets to a Women’s
Society, with the object of inducing the members thereof to
vote for him. The High Court held that the appellant
committed corrupt practice within the meaning of s. 123(6)
and set aside his election. The other corrupt practices
were held not proved. Allowing the appeal and dismissing
the election petition,
HELD:(i) The High Court was in error in holding on the
evidence that expenditure beyond the prescribed limit was
incurred or authorised by the appellant [663 F]
(ii)There was no evidence to indicate that the appellant or
any person with his consent or knowledge induced any of the
voters to vote for him by offering them food. On the
contrary the evidence on both sides indicated that it was
customary practice in Nagaland to offer hospitality to the
people who visit their house. It would not be correct to
equate ordinary hospitability or courtesy with corrupt
practice.
(iii)There was no corrupt motive in the distribution of
bundles of iron sheets. The Society asked for corrugated
iron sheets for a public cause. The appellant was the Chief
Minister at the time of the election and it would not be
unnatural for people to make request to the Chief Minister
for a public cause. It would also be reasonable to expect
that the Chief Minister would try to redress the grievances
of the people. [665 D]
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JUDGMENT:
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1125 of 1970.
Appeal under s. 116-A of the, Representation of the People
Act, 1951 from the Judgment and order dated March 1970 of
the Assam and Nagaland High Court in Election Petition No. 2
of 1969.
S. V. Gupte, S. K. Ghose, Advocate-General, Nagaland, Naunit
Lal, A. R. Barthakar, R. C. Chowdhury and B. K. Dass, for
the appellant.
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D.P. Singh, A. K. Gupta, V. J. Francis and S. P. Singh,
for A the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Ray, J. This is an appeal from the judgment dated 26 March
1970 of the Assam and Nagaland High Court declaring the
election of the appellant void under section 1 00 ( 1 ) (b)
of the Representation of the People Act (hereinafter
referred to as the Act) and further declaring the appellant
to have committed a corrupt practice within the meaning of
section 123(6) of the Act for incurring or authorising
expenditure in contravention of section 77 of the Act.
The gist of the finding of the High Court is that the
appellant showed in his return a sum of Rs. 900/- as
election expenses after claiming a refund of Rs. 100/- but
the appellant is found to have’ incurred or authorised
expenditure of a further amount of Rs. 154.15 which the
appellant did not include in his return and thereby the
appellant exceeded the permissible limit of Rs. 1000/by Rs.
54.15.
The finding of the High Court is, that the appellant
incurred or authorised the expenditure of Rs. 90/- for what
is described as pink identity cards and secondly incurred or
authorised the expenditure of Rs. 22.65 in respect of
purchase of forms and election handbooks and,thirdly
incurred or authorised the expenditure of Rs. 42.50 on 18
trunk calls between 15 January, 1969 and 11 February, 1969
aggregating Rs. 154.15 which sum was not included in the
return of election expenses.
The appellant was at the time of the election Chief Minister
of the State of Nagaland. The appellant and the respondent
were two candidates at the General Election in the year 1969
to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly from No. 6 Western
Angami Constituency. The polling took place on 6, 8 and 10
February, 1969 and counting of votes took place on 12
February, 1969. The appellant polled 1933 votes. The
respondent polled 935 votes. On 12 February, 1969 the
result of the election was declared and the appellant having
secured the majority of valid votes was declared to be
elected.
The respondent in the election petition alleged that the
appellant included in his return as election expenses the
sum of Rs. 75/paid by him to Kohima Printing Press on 17
January, 1969 for printing blue identity cards but the
appellant did not include in the said return a sum of Rs.
90/- by him to Kohima Printing Press on 29 January, 1969 for
printing a set of pink identity cards issued by him. The
appellant in his written. statement denied that lie spent
IZs. 90/- for the purpose of printing identity cards that
were
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used by him in any way in his election. The appellant
stated that he spent Rs. 75/- only for printing the identity
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cards which were used in the election and the same has been
properly accounted for in his statement for his election
expenses.
Under section 123(6) of the Representation of the People Act
the incurring or authorising of expenditure in contravention
of section 77 is a corrupt practice for the purpose of the
Act. Section 77 deals with account of election expenses and
maximum thereof. The first sub-section states that every
candidate at an election shall, either by himself or by his
election agent, keep a separate and correct account of all
expenditure in connection with the election incurred or
authorised by him or by his election agent between the date
of publication of the notification calling the election and
,the date of declaration of the result thereof both dates
inclusive. The second sub-section states that the account
shall contain such particulars’ as may’ be prescribed. The
third subjection states that the total amount shall not
exceed such amount as may be prescribed. The prescribed
maximum for election expenses is the sum of Rs. 1,000 as
will be found in Rule 90(2) of the Conduct of Election
Rules. That is the sum prescribed for the State of Nagaland
for State Assembly Election. For other States different
amounts are prescribed as the maximum of election expenses
for the State Assemblies.
The relevant issue with regard to the alleged expenditure of
Rs. 90 raises the question as to whether the appellant
incurred or authorised the expenditure of the, said amount.
On behalf of the appellant the owner of the printing press
Vipikejeye gave evidence. He said that the appellant placed
an order (Ex. 10) for 5000 identity cards for election and
he also said that Exhibit 1 1 the blue identity cards were
printed in his press. The owner of the press further said
that the appellant did not personally come to place the
order but his party-men came and placed the order’ The blue
identity card was not found suitable and the owner of the
printing press printed the pink identity card. The owner
was paid Rs. 75 for printing 5000 blue identity cards. As
for the pinkcards the evidence of the owner of the printing
press was that the order for the pink cards was placed on 29
January, 1969 "by the young man" of the appellant. The
owner of the press supplied the pink cards numbering 6000
and be received the sum of Rs. 90 on 1 February, 1969 and
one Pralie Peseyie paid that sum and took away the pink
identity cards. Pralie Peseyie was said to be a man of the
appellant. There was no written order for the printing job.
The owner of the press specifically said that he did not
receive Rs. 90 from the appellant,
662
The appellant in his oral evidence said that the blue
identity card was ordered by him to be printed and he
entrusted one of his worker to do it. On his return the
appellant found that there was something wrong in the blue
identity cards which contained the words ’Vote for T. N.
Angami’. The appellant said that he became annoyed and
asked. the, person entrusted with the printing of the
identity cards to, go immediately to the printing press and
get the cards "reprinted correctly". After- that "the man"
brought the pink identity card but he did not tell anything
about the payment of such printing work and that is how the
appellant did not account for them. The-appellant accounted
for Rs. 75 as the cost of printing identity cards.
In cross-examination the appellant was asked whether he
asked Pralie Peseyie to pay the cost of the blue identity
card because of the appellant’s annoyance. His answer was
that he did not say anything specifically but Pralie Peseyie
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did something wrong and the latter felt shy and did not ask
any money from the appellant. The appellant’s evidence was
that the press submitted the bill for the printing of the
blue identity card and the payment was made by, the
appellant but he did not personally go and pay. In cross-
examination the appellant was specifically asked whether the
pink identity cards were produced before him with the bill.
The appellant, answered in the negative. The appellant was
then asked whether before filing the return the appellant
had asked from the press as to what the cost of the printing
of the pink identity cards was. The, appellant’s answer was
"I bad not paid personally and the bill was not produced
before me I did not enquire". The appellant was again asked
whether the amount for printing pink identity cards was
paid. , His answer was that the amount was paid by Pralie
Peseyie.
Pralie Peseyie gave evidence on behalf of the appellant and
said that the appellant was "much annoyed" because Pralie
Peseyie without the appellant’s knowledge put the words
"Please vote for T. N. Angami" on the blue identity cards
and the appellant asked Pralie Peseyie to get the identity
cards reprinted. Pralie Peseyie therefore placed order to
get 6000 identity cards printed again. He said that he paid
Rs. 90 from his own pocket as he felt that it was his
responsibility to get the cards printed correctly. He also
said that he never asked the appellant to reimburse him for
that amount of Rs. 90. In cross-examination he was asked
whether he told the appellant that he paid Rs. 90. His
answer was in ,the negative. Pralie Peseyie further said
that the words "Please vote for T. N. Angami" were not on
the sample that the appellant gave but the witness added
those words without the knowledge of the appellant. The
witness was asked a direct question as to what amount the
witness spent for the appellant in the election and his
663
answer was "I paid Rs. 90 for the printing of the pink
identity cards and no more".
The High Court held that the amount of Rs. 90 must have been
paid to the-press by Pralie Peseyie on behalf of the
appellant and therefore the expenditure was incurred by the
appellant as well as authorised by him in connection with
his election.
The respondent in the election petition alleged that the
appellant paid Rs. 90. The Representation of the People Act
uses the words incuffing and authorising the expenditure.
The appellant denied that he paid Rs. 90. It was never
suggested to the appellant that he had authorised the
expenditure of Rs. 90. On the contrary, the positive
evidence of the appellant is that he was annoyed with Pralie
Peseyie for introducing the words ’Vote for ’F. N. Angami’
on the blue identity cards and therefore the appellant
wanted Pralie Peseyie to get the cards reprinted correctly.
It is also the evidence of Pralie Peseyie that he did
something wrong and he had to have it corrected. He
therefore paid Rs. 90 out of his own pocket. The most
significant feature in ’,he evidence is, that the bill for
Rs. 90 was never produced or sent to the appellant whereas
the ’bill for the blue identity cards was sent to the
appellant. The manner in which the appellant reprimanded
Pralie Peseyie for adding the words "Vote for T. N. Angami"
would not necessarily involve an obligation to pay and
authorise an expenditure for getting the cards reprinted
correctly. If it were the fault of the press, the press
would have to rectify the same. On the other hand, if the
blame fell on Pralie Peseyie he would have to bear the
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brunt. The fact that the bill was not sent to the appellant
shows that the fault was of the witness Pralie Peseyie The
oral evidence also points to that inescapable conclusion.
The High Court was in error in holding on the evidence that
the expenditure for Rs. 90 was incurred or authorised by the
appellant. This finding is not supported by the evidence
and on the contrary it is repelled by the evidence. We
cannot help observing that both the appellant and Pralie
Peseyie gave evidence in a very straightforward and truthful
Manner. They narrated the correct course of events. We
accept their evidence and hold that the appellant neither
incurred nor authorised the expenditure of Rs. 90 for the
pink identity cards.
It would, therefore, not be necessary for us to go into the
question whether, the sum of Rs. 41.50 for trunk calls and
the sum of Rs. 22.65 for purchase of forms and hand-books
were incurred or authorised by the appellant. Even if those
two sums of money were added, the return would not be in
violation of the maximum amount of Rs. 1000/-.
664
Counsel for the respondent contended that the findings of
the High Court on allegations contained in paragraph 1(a),
(f) and (j) of particulars of corrupt practice mentioned
in paragraph 6 of the petition were incorrect and the
High Court should have held that the appellant was guilty
of corrupt practice. Paragraph 1 (a) relates to a charge
against the appellant of having paid Rs. 200 in cash to
Dolhoutha Gaonbura of Zubra and one bag of sugar for
entertainment of electors attending a function at Zubra on
25 January, 1969. Paragraph 1 (f) alleges that on 27 Janu-
ary, 1969 a women’s meeting was held at Daklane when it was
announced that a procession would be taken out on 1
February, 1969. About 200 people mostly women formed a
procession shouted slogans to vote for the appellant and the
appellant asked them to vote for him and after the meeting a
feast was held at the appellant’s house at which drinks were
served to the people. Paragraph 1 (j) alleges that on 27
January, 1969 the appellant and his wife and some other
persons came to the village Pedugei in connection with the
election and held a meeting where the appellant and his wife
promised 8 bundles of corrugated iron sheets for the women
of Kiruphema with the object of inducing them to vote for
the appellant and corrugated iron sheets were later on
brought from Dimapur by a truck belonging to Mizielhouto and
divided amongst three groups of people. The appellant in
the written statement denied the charges.
The respondent did not have personal knowledge of the feast
alleged in paragraph I (a) of the particulars but three
witnesses were examined on behalf of the respondent. On
behalf of ’the appellant there was the evidence of Dolhoutha
and Shitovi Hesso. The High Court held that the three
witnesses on behalf of the respondent were interested in the
success of the respondent and the three witnesses attributed
statements about feast and distribution of sugar to
Dolhoutha who denied the same and said that the people of
the village organised the feast with their money. The High
Court correctly found that the quality of evidence on behalf
of the respondent was such that no reliance could be placed
upon it.
As to allegations of corrupt practice in paragraph 1 (f)
about the women’s meeting the High Court held that there was
no evidence to indicate that the. respondent or any person
induced the persons present to vote or offered them food and
fruit. On the contrary, the High Court found that evidence
of both- sides indicated that it was customary practice in
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Nagaland to offer hospitality to the people who visit their
house. It will not be correct to equate ordinary
hospitality or courtesy with corrupt practice.
With regard to allegations mentioned in paragraph I (j) and
the distribution of bundles of corrugated iron sheets the
High Court
665
held that the women’s society asked for corrugated sheets
for a public cause. The ’appellant was the Chief Minister
at the time of the election. It would not be unnatural for
people to make requests to the Chief Minister for a public
cause. It would also be reasonable to expect that the Chief
Minister would try to redress grievances of the people.
There is no proof of corrupt motive. We agree with the High
Court that there is no proof of corrupt practice alleged in
paragraphs 1 (a), (f) and (j) of the particulars dealt with
above.
For these reasons we accept the appeal and hold that the
appellant is not guilty of any violation of section 123 (6)
and section 77 of the Representation of the People Act. The
judgment of the High Court is set aside. The charge, of
corrupt practice under section 123(6) is set aside. The
order setting aside the election of, the appellant and the
declaration avoiding the election under section 100(1)(b) of
the Act are both set aside. The election petition of the
respondent is dismissed. The appellant will be entitled to
costs.
K.B.N. Appeal allowed.
666