Case Note & Summary
The judgment of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, delivered by R.I. Chagla J., concerned two applications in Election Petition No.3 of 2024 filed under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The applications were moved by Respondent No.1 and Respondent No.14, seeking rejection of the election petition on the ground that it did not disclose any cause of action. The election petitioner had alleged that Respondent No.1 failed to disclose his conviction in a criminal offence in Form 26, as required by Sr. No.6 of the form as amended by Notification No. SO 5196(E) dated 10 October 2018. The petitioner contended that this non-disclosure rendered the election liable to be set aside. The factual background showed that Respondent No.1 was convicted by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thane, on 29 February 2016, and that conviction was upheld in appeal by the Additional District Judge-II, Thane, on 9 February 2017. Despite this, Respondent No.1 marked 'Not Applicable' against Sr.No.6(ii) of Form 26, which required details of cases in which the candidate had been convicted for offences specified thereunder. Respondent No.1's defence was that only a conviction resulting in imprisonment for one year or more required disclosure under Section 33A(1)(ii) of the Representation of People Act, 1951. Because he was released on the basis of good conduct under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 with no imprisonment, he claimed his disclosure was true and correct. The legal issue centered on whether the election petition disclosed a cause of action, given the interpretation of Section 33A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, Rule 4A of the Election Rules, 1961, and Form 26. The senior counsel for Respondent No.1 traced the legislative history: Rule 4A was inserted on 3 September 2002 under Section 169 of the Representation of People Act, 1951; Section 33A was introduced by Ordinance on 24 August 2002 and replaced by the Representation of the People (Third Amendment) Act, 2002. Section 33A(1)(ii) required a candidate convicted of certain offences and sentenced to imprisonment for one year or more to furnish information by affidavit. The affidavit format was prescribed in Form 26. The arguments referred to the Supreme Court decisions in Union of India v. Association for Democratic Reforms, (2002) 5 SCC 294, and People's Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India, (2003) 4 SCC 399. The ADR judgment recognized the voter's right to information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and directed the Election Commission to call for information on affidavit. The PUCL judgment upheld Section 33A, struck down Section 33B, and held that the right to information under Section 33A was reasonably adequate, though there was no reason to exclude pending cases where cognizance had been taken. The Court heard these submissions on 13 June 2025 and reserved judgment, pronouncing it on 9 September 2025. The extracted portion of the judgment ends at paragraph 14 before recording the final decision or operative order; therefore, the final outcome and binding legal ratio are not available in the provided text.
Headnote
A) Election Law - Rejection of Election Petition - Order VII Rule 11 Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Cause of Action - Applications by Respondent Nos.1 and 14 sought rejection of Election Petition No.3 of 2024 on the ground that it did not disclose a cause of action as the Respondent No.1 was not required to disclose his conviction in Form 26 because he was released on probation without imprisonment - The Court considered the provisions of Section 33A of Representation of People Act, 1951, Rule 4A of Election Rules, 1961 and Form 26; however, the extracted judgment portion does not record the final decision on the applications (Paras 1-14). B) Election Law - Disclosure of Criminal Antecedents - Form 26 and Section 33A(1)(ii) Representation of People Act, 1951 - Candidate Convicted and Sentenced to Imprisonment - Respondent No.1's case was that only conviction resulting in imprisonment for one year or more required disclosure; as he was released under Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 with no imprisonment, his Form 26 disclosure of 'Not Applicable' was true and correct - The Court examined the statutory requirement as argued, including the amendments to Form 26 by Notification No. SO 5196(E) dated 10 October 2018, but no final holding was stated in the extracted text (Paras 3-5, 12). C) Constitutional Law - Right to Information - Article 19(1)(a) Constitution of India - Voter's Right to Know - Section 33A of Representation of People Act, 1951 is based on the principle that a voter has a right to information about the candidate under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution - The Court noted the arguments on the ADR and PUCL judgments where Section 33-B was struck down and Section 33-A upheld, but no final constitutional ruling was made in the extracted portion (Paras 6-14). D) Election Law - Validity of Disclosure Provisions - Section 33A and Section 33B Representation of People Act, 1951 - Judicial Precedents - The PUCL judgment upheld Section 33A(1)(ii) and struck down Section 33B as violative of Article 19(1)(a); Justice Venkatarama Reddi in paragraph 116 upheld Section 33-A(1)(ii) and paragraph 123(6) held right to information under Section 33-A was reasonably adequate - The Court was urged to apply these precedents to the present application for rejection of election petition, but the extracted portion ends before the final order (Paras 13-14).
Issue of Consideration
Whether election petition under Order VII Rule 11 CPC discloses cause of action based on alleged non-disclosure of conviction in Form 26 by Respondent No.1
Law Points
- Election petition must disclose cause of action to survive Order VII Rule 11 CPC
- Candidate convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for one year or more must disclose under Section 33A(1)(ii) RP Act 1951
- Voter's right to information under Article 19(1)(a) includes criminal antecedents
- Section 33B RP Act struck down and Section 33A upheld in PUCL judgment
- Form 26 affidavit requirement under Rule 4A Election Rules 1961
