Case Note & Summary
In the Supreme Court of India, an appeal under Section 116A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 arose from a judgment of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Election Petition No. 7 of 1990. Kalamata Mohan Rao, the returned candidate from No. 6 Pathapatnam Assembly Constituency in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections held on 22 November 1989, appealed against the High Court's order setting aside his election. He had polled 41,040 votes as the Telugu Desam Party candidate, defeating Congress(I) candidate Narayana Rao Dharmana, who secured 40,766 votes. The election petition alleged several corrupt practices, including appealing for votes on religious grounds under Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The High Court found only the corrupt practice under Section 123(3) proved and set aside the election. The other grounds were not held to be made out. The material facts concerned posters allegedly got pasted by the appellant on 17 November 1989 at several places in the constituency. The posters depicted Telugu Desam Party Supremo N.T. Rama Rao in the role of Lord Krishna, an incarnation worshipped by Hindus, blowing a conch shell, with a sloka from the Bhagavad Gita at the top and a clarion call below to defeat the Congress. The election petition pleaded that the poster portrayed N.T. Rama Rao as an avatar of God who appeared to destroy evil and save the people, and that the electorate was made to believe that voting for the appellant was voting for an avatar of God, while voting against him would incur divine displeasure. A photograph of the poster, Ex.A-7, taken by photographer Chowdary Vaikuntarao (PW-14), was produced. Witnesses including the election petitioner (PW-1), Miryabilli Ramagao Naidu (PW-10), Maddela Paparao (PW-11), Votti Mukhalingam (PW-12), and B. Ramana (PW-13) testified. The testimony of K. Veerabhadra Rao (PW-9) was disbelieved by the High Court and excluded. The appellant led no rebuttal evidence and did not examine himself. The Supreme Court examined whether the High Court correctly held the appellant guilty of corrupt practice under Section 123(3) and whether the appellant's responsibility for the posters was proved. The Court agreed with the High Court's assessment of the evidence. It held that the contents of the poster unambiguously amounted to an appeal on the ground of the religion of the Telugu Desam Party candidate. The poster's clear meaning was that N.T. Rama Rao was an incarnation of God worshipped by Hindus and sought votes for the appellant, a Hindu, to conquer evil in the form of the Congress Party, and that voters should vote for the appellant for the sake of Hindu religion. The direct evidence of witnesses attributing the pasting of posters to the appellant was accepted; there was nothing in cross-examination to disbelieve them, and no rebuttal evidence. The Court distinguished Mullapudi Venkata Krishna Rao v. Vedula Suryanarayana, 1993 Supp (3) SCC 504, where a similar poster was construed but responsibility of the candidate was not proved; here responsibility was clearly established. Accordingly, the Supreme Court found no infirmity in the High Court's judgment, dismissed the appeal with costs, and upheld the setting aside of the appellant's election.
Headnote
A) Election Law - Corrupt Practice - Appeal on Ground of Religion - Representation of the People Act, 1951, Section 123(3) - The case concerned posters depicting N.T. Rama Rao as Lord Krishna with a Bhagavad Gita sloka, which the High Court held constituted an appeal for votes on religious grounds. The Supreme Court affirmed that the contents unambiguously amounted to an appeal on the ground of the religion of the candidate, implying that voters should vote for the appellant for the sake of Hindu religion. Held that such canvassing violated Section 123(3) and justified setting aside the election. B) Evidence - Proof of Responsibility for Corrupt Practice - Unrebutted Testimony and Adverse Inference - Representation of the People Act, 1951, Section 123(3) - The appellant's direct responsibility for pasting the posters was established by credible witness testimony and photograph Ex.A-7, with no cross-examination discrediting the witnesses and no rebuttal evidence; the appellant did not testify. Held that the unrebutted evidence was sufficient to prove the corrupt practice, and the High Court's finding was affirmed.
Issue of Consideration
Whether the High Court correctly held the appellant guilty of corrupt practice under Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 for appealing for votes on the ground of his religion through posters depicting N.T. Rama Rao as Lord Krishna, and whether the appellant's responsibility for pasting those posters was proved.
Final Decision
Appeal dismissed with costs. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's judgment setting aside the appellant's election for corrupt practice under Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Law Points
- Appeal for votes on ground of religion violates Section 123(3) of Representation of the People Act
- 1951
- depiction of party leader as Lord Krishna with Bhagavad Gita sloka amounts to unambiguous religious appeal
- responsibility for corrupt practice may be proved by unrebutted testimony and absence of rebuttal evidence
- returned candidate's failure to testify supports adverse inference.
