Bald Allegations of Undisclosed Criminal Cases Cannot Sustain Election Petition: Rajasthan High Court Rejects Hanumangarh Poll Challenge

Amit filed an election petition under sections 80-A, 81 and 100 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 against the election of respondent no.1, Ganesh Raj Bansal, declared elected for the Hanumangarh Assembly constituency on 03.12.2023 (para 1). He alleged that the nomination was improperly accepted because the back of the stamp paper carrying the notary's attestation was unsigned, and that the returned candidate withheld information about 17 criminal cases, amounting to corrupt practice (para 23). The returned candidate sought rejection under Order VII Rule 11 CPC, citing the petition's reliance on non-existent ‘Conduct of Election Rules, 1967’ and its lack of pleadings (paras 2-9). The petitioner applied to amend the year to 1961 (paras 11-12).

The Court held that citing the non-existent 1967 Rules instead of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 was a typographical error, not fatal: the petitioner plainly meant the 1961 Rules, and the Court must apply the law as it exists regardless of the pleadings (paras 24, 27-28). The amendment application was allowed (paras 29-30). On non-disclosure, the petition made only a bald assertion about FIRs, and the pleading on 17 undisclosed cases gave no FIR number, police station or court (paras 31-32). Prima facie, the Court said, a candidate need not disclose cases in which the police filed a negative final report (para 33). Even otherwise, the petitioner had to plead particulars such as FIR numbers, complainants, offences and police stations; annexing final reports in 3-4 cases was not enough (paras 34-35). The averments neither met section 83 nor made out a case under section 100(1)(d)(i) or (ii), and disclosed no corrupt practice (paras 37-38). The petition's own documents showed that the returned candidate had disclosed his pending cases (paras 42-43). The unsigned back of the stamp paper did not invalidate Form 26, which was signed and attested on every page (para 39).