# THAKUR VIRENDRA SINGH v. VIMAL KUMAR

- **Citation:** [1977] 1 S.C.R. 525
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1976-09-08
- **Bench:** H. R. Khanna, N. L. Untwalia, Jaswant Singh
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/thakur-virendra-singh-v-vimal-kumar-6944
- **Pages:** 12

## Headnote

5Z.5
Representation of the People Act, 1950-Election Petition-Not accompanied
by impugned pamphlet-If liable to be rejected-Printer-If could be called an
accomplice-Failure to send pamphlet to District Magistrate as required by S.
127-A (2)-If makes the Printer an accomplice.
The respondent, who was an unsuccessful candidate in the general election
to the State Assembly, impugned the appellant's election on the ground that be
had committed a corrupt practice within the me:ming of s. lOO(l)(b) of the
Representation of the People Act, 1950, in that he had printed and circ,ulated
a pamphlet maligning the respondent.
Allowing the petition, the High Court
set aside the election.
In appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the appellant as a.
preliminary objection (i) that since the election petition served on the appellant
was not accompanied by a copy of the impugned pamphlet, the petition_ was
liable to be dismissed and (ii) tha.t the evidence of the Manager (P.W. 24)
of the Press in which the pamphlet had been printed, being that of an accomplice could not be relied upon.
Dismissing the appeal,
HELD : (1) (a) The petition could not have been dismissed in view of
s. 99 of the Code of Civil Procedure which clearly says that a defect which does
not affect the merits of the case or the jurisdiction of the Court cannot invalidMe
the decision.
[529 Dl
(b) It is well settled that failure to give particnlars of printing of the pamplllet is not detrimental and cannot lead to the dismissal of the petition.
[529 D]
Prabhu Narayan v. A.K. Srivastava, [1975) 3 S.C.C. 788 referred to.
lrb the instant case, the allegations of corrupt practice and particulars thereof given in the election petition were sufficiently clear and precise.
The affidavit
conforms to the form prescribed for the purpose.
Moreover, the appellant
had an easy access to the Court record and could have no difficulty in gathering
the necessary material to meet the case set up by the respondent by a reference
to the leafet.
[529 CJ
(2) (a) The mere fact that P.W. 24 printed the offending leaflet could not
clothe him with the character of a guilty associate or partner in the crime of
corrupt practice within the meaning of s. 123 ( 4) of the Act.
[530 DJ
A
B
c
D
E
F
(b) Moreover, the omission on the part of P.W. 24 to send to the concerned
District Magistrate a copy each of the declaration and the printed material as
required by s. 127-A(2) of the Act may lax him open to prosecution for an
G
offence under sub-s. ( 4) of that section but would not make him an accomplice
or render his statement untrustworthy. [530 F]
In the instant case, P.W. 24 was neither an election agent of the appellant
nor was there any allegation tha•t he published the offending leaflet.
Despite
the searching cross-examination to which he was subjected, his credit had remained unshaken.
[530 El
Crv1L APPELLATE JuRisDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 1212 of 1974.
H
From the Judgment and Order dated 26-4-74 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Election Petition No. 4/72.
526
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1977] 1 S.C.R.
A
Hardayal Hardy and S. K. Gambhir, for the Appellant.
B
c
D
E
F
G
D. V. Patel, B. Jindal, M.M.L. Srivastava and E. C. Agaiwala,
f~r the respondent.

## Text

THAKUR VIRENDRA SINGH
v.
VIMAL KUMAR
September 8, 1976
[H. R. KHANNA, N. L. UNTWALIA AND JASWANT SINGH, JJ.]
5Z.5
Representation of the People Act, 1950-Election Petition-Not accompanied
by impugned pamphlet-If liable to be rejected-Printer-If could be called an
accomplice-Failure to send pamphlet to District Magistrate as required by S.
127-A (2)-If makes the Printer an accomplice.
The respondent, who was an unsuccessful candidate in the general election
to the State Assembly, impugned the appellant's election on the ground that be
had committed a corrupt practice within the me:ming of s. lOO(l)(b) of the
Representation of the People Act, 1950, in that he had printed and circ,ulated
a pamphlet maligning the respondent.
Allowing the petition, the High Court
set aside the election.
In appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the appellant as a.
preliminary objection (i) that since the election petition served on the appellant
was not accompanied by a copy of the impugned pamphlet, the petition_ was
liable to be dismissed and (ii) tha.t the evidence of the Manager (P.W. 24)
of the Press in which the pamphlet had been printed, being that of an accomplice could not be relied upon.
Dismissing the appeal,
HELD : (1) (a) The petition could not have been dismissed in view of
s. 99 of the Code of Civil Procedure which clearly says that a defect which does
not affect the merits of the case or the jurisdiction of the Court cannot invalidMe
the decision.
[529 Dl
(b) It is well settled that failure to give particnlars of printing of the pamplllet is not detrimental and cannot lead to the dismissal of the petition.
[529 D]
Prabhu Narayan v. A.K. Srivastava, [1975) 3 S.C.C. 788 referred to.
lrb the instant case, the allegations of corrupt practice and particulars thereof given in the election petition were sufficiently clear and precise.
The affidavit
conforms to the form prescribed for the purpose.
Moreover, the appellant
had an easy access to the Court record and could have no difficulty in gathering
the necessary material to meet the case set up by the respondent by a reference
to the leafet.
[529 CJ
(2) (a) The mere fact that P.W. 24 printed the offending leaflet could not
clothe him with the character of a guilty associate or partner in the crime of
corrupt practice within the meaning of s. 123 ( 4) of the Act.
[530 DJ
A
B
c
D
E
F
(b) Moreover, the omission on the part of P.W. 24 to send to the concerned
District Magistrate a copy each of the declaration and the printed material as
required by s. 127-A(2) of the Act may lax him open to prosecution for an
G
offence under sub-s. ( 4) of that section but would not make him an accomplice
or render his statement untrustworthy. [530 F]
In the instant case, P.W. 24 was neither an election agent of the appellant
nor was there any allegation tha•t he published the offending leaflet.
Despite
the searching cross-examination to which he was subjected, his credit had remained unshaken.
[530 El
Crv1L APPELLATE JuRisDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 1212 of 1974.
H
From the Judgment and Order dated 26-4-74 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Election Petition No. 4/72.
526
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1977] 1 S.C.R.
A
Hardayal Hardy and S. K. Gambhir, for the Appellant.
B
c
D
E
F
G
D. V. Patel, B. Jindal, M.M.L. Srivastava and E. C. Agaiwala,
f~r the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
JAsWANT SINGH, J.-This appeal under section 116-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as 'the
Act') is cli'rected against the judgment and order dated April 26, 1974.
of Indore Bench of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh whereby the
election of the appellant to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
from Khachrod Assembly Constituency No.
247 at the general
elections of 1972 has been set aside under section lOO(l)(b)
of the Act on the election petition filed by Vimal Kumar Choudhury,
respondent herein, who was an elector in the said constituency.
Pursuant to the notifications issued under section 30 of the Act
cajling upon the aforesaid constituency to elect a member to the M.P.
Legislative Assembly, nomination papers by the appellant and some
others were filed on February 8, 1972. On scrutiny of the nominati'On papers held by the Returning Officer on February 9, 1972, nomination of 8 candidates was found valid. Out of the said 8 candidates,
3 withdrew their candidature with the result that only five candidates
including the appellant who was set up by Bhartiya Jan Sangh andi
Rajendra Jain (P.W. 39) who was set up by the Indian National
Congress contested the election. The poll took place on March 8,
1972. On March 12, 1972, the appellant was declared elected as a
result of counting of the polled votes which showed that he had secured 23,572 votes as against 22,327 secured by Rajendra Jain (P.W.
39), his nearest rival.
On April 24, 1972, the respondent herein
presented an election petition challenging the election of the appellant
alleging commissi'On by the latter of various acts of corrupt practices.
The particulars of corrupt practices alleged to have been committed
by the appellant were set out by the respondent in Paragraphs 13, 14
and 15 of his election petition. In paragraph 13 of the election petition, it was inter alia stated as under :-
" ( 13). That the respondent has committed the corrupt
practice of publication of false statement of fact in relation to
the personal character and/or conduct of Shri Rajendra
Jain (hereinafter referred to as the 'Congress Candidate')
falling in the purview of section 123 ( 4) of the Act as per
the facts and particulars menti'Oned hereinafter.
Leaflet
(13 )(xi). That the Congress candidate is the follower
of the Jainism wherein the eating of cow meat is absolutely
prohibited. Shri Rajendra Kumar Jain does not eat meat at
all. Amongst Hindus who form a majority of the voters in
H
the Constituency, cow is regarded as a sacred animal and
worshipped like God. Persons who eat cow meat are looked
with hatred by the Hindus and are discarded
from
the
society.
,..__
..
VIRENDRA SINGH v. VIMAL KUMAR (Jaswant Singh, !.)
527
(13) (xii). That the
respondent/Election
Agent
got
printed and distributed a leaflet entitled :
"Beware, understand the Congress Candidate." (Leaflet
· is attached hereto and marked as Annexure 'A') .
(13) (xiii). That the leaflet Annexure 'A' contains
the following statement of facts which are false, which the
respondent either believed to be false or did not believe to
·be true in relation to the personal character and/or conduct
of the Congress Candidate, being the statement reasonably
calculated to prejudice the prospects of Congress candidate's
election:
" .... What to spei!k: of other things,
Rajendra
Jain
went on tour to those countries where beef is prepared and
served in Hotels and there he took beef even.
Do you
want to cast your vote in favour of a person who is atheist,
who is a beef eater and is devoid of Dharma .... "
A
B
c
(13) (xiv). That the particulars regarding the date, place,
time and name regarding the distributors of Annexure 'A'
are given hereinbelow :-
D
Sr. Date
Place
(a) 5·3·72 Khachrod (Shukarvariya
Chowk), in the meeting
of Jan Sangh at which
the respondent and his
election
agent
Shri
Anirudda Heda
were
also present.
(b) 6'3'72
Name of
Distribution
RamPartap s/o
Ramsukh
Khachrod
Ramsingh
R/o Gan%h
Chowk,
Birlagram,
Nadga.
Time
About
3·00 P. M.
9·00 A. M. to
ll·OO A. M.
The election petition was vigorously contested by the appellant.
E
F
In the course of the written statement filed by him,
the appellant
denied to have any concern with or knowledge of the aforesaid leaflet
and averred that during the election time, he never saw any such
leaflet; that it was only in the course of the election petition that he
came to know of the leaflet and that he had no knowledge of the truth
G
. or falsity of the contents thereof. The appellant further averred that
it was only after the defeat of Rajendra Jain that the story of the
leaflet was manouvred and manufactured for the purpose of the
election petition.
The appellant further averred that he did not do
anything to prej!Udice the prospects of the election of Rajendra Jain.
On the pleadings of the parties, the learned Judge (to whom the
H
election petition was assigned for trial and disposal by the Chief
Justice of the High Court) framed a number of issues but it is only
with the following issues with which we are concerned in this appeal:-
528
A
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1977] 1 S.C.R.
"4) (a). Whether the leaflet Annexure 'A' was published
by or with the consent of the respondent by the persons and
on the dates mentiuned in para ( 13) (xiv) of the petition ?
(b) If so, whether the said leaflet contained false statements in relation to the personal character and conduct of
B
the congress candidate Rajendra Jain which the respondent
did not believe to be true or believed to be false ?"
•
c
D
E
F
G
H
On consideration of the evidence adduced by the parties during the
course of the regular trial of the petition, the learned trial Judge
allowed the election petition and set aside the election of the appellant
under section 100 ( 1 )(b) of the Act.
The findings arrived at by the
learned Judge in so far .as they are relevant for the purpose of this
appeal are as follows :-
"Though the findings on most of the issues are ,against
the petitioner yet it has been found that the pamphlet Ex.
P-10 which was a false statement with regard to the personal conduct and character of the candidate Rajendra Jain
was got printed by the respondent at the printing press of
P.W.34 Ramprasad.
The defence raised by the respondent with regard to this pamphlet has been found to be not
established. It has been held that it was the respondent who
himseif by letter Ex.P-20 'got this pamphlet printed in the
printing press of P.W. 34 Ramprasad. The evidence given by
the petitioner about its distribution by Ram Singh (P.W. 21)
and Rampratap Dhakad (not examined) with the consent of
the rcsp<wd.ent has been disbelieved. However, it has been
found as a fact that it was the respondent himself who got
2000 copies of this pamphlet printed and published. This is,
therefore, a clear case where the respondent is guilty of getting this pamphlet printed and published against the congress
party candidate Rajendra Jain.
The respondent is, in the
light of the aforesaid finding clearly guilty of committing the
corrupt practice as mentioned in sub-section ( 4) of section
123 of the Representation of the People Act. When such a
pamphlet is published by the returned candidate the only
inference that can be drawn is that the publication was
reasonably calculated to prejudice the prospects
of the
election of the other contesting candidate Rajendra Jain.
Consequently under section 100(1) (b) the election of the
respondent is liable to be declared void and set aside."
The trial Judge, however, left the parties to pay and bear their
own costs of the petition. It is against this judgment and order that
the present appeal has been preferred.
Mr. Hardy, who has taken great pains to present the case of the
appellant has, in the first instance, attempted to lead us to the realm
of hyper-technicalities. He has tried to pick up faults in the verifica-
..
) ..
'i'IRENDRA SINGH v. VIMAL KUMAR (Jaswant Singh, J.)
529
tion on the election petition and the affidavit accompanying the petition and has urged that the petition ought to have been dismissed by
the High Court in
limine under section 86 of the Act in
view of the fact that the verification and the affidavit . pid not
contain sufficient particulars of the corrupt practices attributed to the
appellant and did not at all give particulars ,of printing of the offending leaflet.
He has further urged that the petition was also liable to
be dismissed as the copy of the petition meant to be served on the
appellant was not accompanied by a copy of annexure 'A' i.e. Exh.
P-10. We find ourselves unable to accede to these contentions. The
allegations of corrupt practice and particulars thereof as
given
in
paragraph 13 of the election petition reproduced above are sufficiently
clear and precise. The affidavit accompanying the petition in support
of the allegations of corrupt practice and the particulars thereof_ also
conform to the form prescribed for the purpose.
The appellant had
an easy access to the court record and could have no difficulty in
gathering the necessary material to meet the case set up by the respondent by a reference to the leaflet (Exh. P-10) which formed an annexure to the election petition. It is also now well settled that failure
to give pariculars of printing of 'the pamphlet is not detrimental and
cannot lead to the dismissal of the petition.
(See Prabhu Narayan '"·
A. K. Srivastava) (1). That apart, the petition could also not have been
dismissed in view of section 99 of the Code of Civil Procedure which
clearly says that a defect which does not affect the merits of the case
or the jurisdiction of the Court cannot invalidate the deci'!;ion. The
prelminary contentions of Mr. Hardy cannot, therefore, be sustained.
Continuing his arguments, Mr. Hardy, while fairly
and rightly
conceding that the contents of the aforesaid leaflet (Exh.P-10) do cast
a reflection on the personal conduct and character of 'Rajendra Jain
(P.W. 39) and as such fall within the mischief of sect;on 123(4) of
the Act, has vehemently assailed the aforesaid findings of the trial
Judge with regard to the printing and publication of the leaflet (Exh.
P-10) by the appellant. He has contended that the evidence adduced
in the case does not at all establish that it was the appellant or his
election agent or any one of his supporters who got the offending
leaflet (Exh. P-10) printed or published or that the leaflet was distributed to the members of the public of Khachrod Constituency with
the consent of the appellant or his election agent to prejudice the
election prospects of Rajendra Jain (P.W.39).
In view of the concession made by Mr. Hardy that the contents
A
B
c
D
E
F
of the aforesaid leaflet (Exh. P-10) do Cl!St a !reflection on the personal
G
conduct and character of Rajendra Jain (P.W. 39) and as such would
fall within the mischief of section 123(4) of the Act, the only point
that survives for decision in this appeal is whether the High Court
was right in setting aside the election of the appellant on the ground
of 'publication' by him or with his consent. of the leaflet which according to the respondent contained false statement of facts as
to the--
personal character and conduct of Rajendra Jain (P.W. 39) and was
H
reasonably calculated to prejudice the ·prospects of the latter's election
to the State Legislative Assembly in the general elections of 1972.
(I) [19751 3 S.C.C. 788.
A
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
530
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1977] 1 S.C.R.
T~e first an~ fo~emost question which is required to be determined in
this com1.ect10n is ~hether it was the appellant who got the offending
leaflet pnnted. It 1s necessary to go into the question of printing of
the leaflet (Exh. P-10) as the finding in respect thereof is bound to
have, as hel~ by this Court in Prabhu Narayan's case (supra), an im-
. portant b~arm~ on the question of its distribution either by the appellai;it ?r w1!h ?1s consen.t and a discussion of the evidence regarding
prmtmg provides a satisfactory method of assuring oneself as
to
w?ethe! the distribution was made, as alleged, by the appellant or
with his consent.
Now the proof regarding printing of the leaflet (Exh. P-10) consists.
of the evidence of Ramprasad (P.W.24) who is the Manager of
Kamla Printing Press, Ujjain, which !.s owned by his wife. Mr. Hardy
has stressed that the statement of Ramprasad is untrustworthy; that his
conduct does not inspire confidence and that his statement being that
of an accomplice cannot be relied upon without independent corroboration.
Though Mr. Hardy has levelled trenchant criticism against the
evidence of Ramprasad ( P. W. 24) , we are not inclined to agree with
him.
There is nothing strange about the conduct or behaviour of
Ramprasad which may impel us to discard his testimony.
Despite
the searching cross-examination to which he was subjected, his credit
has remained unshaken. The mere fact that he printed the offending
leaflet cannot clothe him with the character of a guilty associate or
partner in the crime of corrupt practice within the meaning of section
123 ( 4) of the Act, which consists in the publication by the candidate or
his agent or by any other person with the consent of the candidate or
his election agent, of any statement of fact which is false or which he
either believes to be false or does not believe to be true, in relation to
the personal character or conduct of any candidate which is reasonably calculated to prejudice the prospects of that candidate's election.
In.the instant case, Ramprasad (P.W. 24) was neither the election
agent of the appellant nor is there any allegation that he published the
offending leaflet. Section 127-A of the Act on which Mr. Hardy has
placed strong reliance in support of his contention that Ramprasad (P.W.
24) was in the position of an accomplice has no relevance. It has nothing to do with the offence in question.
The omi'Ssion on the part of
Ramprasad to send to the concerned District Magistrate a copy each of
the declaration and the printed material as required by sub-section (2)
of section 127-A of the Act may lay him open to prosecution for an
offence under sub-section ( 4) of section 127-A of the Act but would
not make him an accomplice or render his statement untrustworthy.
Ramprasad (P.W. 24) has affirmed that on February 22, 1972, Rajaram from Khachrod came to him and made inquiries from him regarding the printing charges of a leaflet, and that he turned up again
on the following day with letter (Exh. P-20) from the appellant and
told him that he had been sent by him.
The witness has further
deposed that Rajaram departed after handing over to him the letter
(Exh. P-20), the draft or manuscript of the leaflet (Exh. P-21) which
had to be printed and the printing charges amounting to Rs.
45/-.
He has further stated that the charges were acknowledged by him the
same day by means of a receipt of the even date; that on February 24,
'
VffiENDRA SINGH v. VIMAL KUMAR (laswant Singh, J.)
531
1972, when he had completed the composition of draft of the leaflet,
Anirudh Hada (R.W. 1), an advocate of Ujjain, came to him and
after
telling
him
that
he
was
the
representative
and
worker of the appellant, went through the printed proof (Exh. P-23)
of the leaflet (Exh. P-10) and advised pim that the name of Rajaram
Parmar appearing at one place on the first sheet and at two places
on the second sheet in the proof should be removed and replaced by
the words 'a citizen of Khachrod'.
The witness has further stated
that i,000 copies of the leaflet were printed by him on February 25,
1972 and handed over to Rajaram.
The statement of Ramprasad
(P.W. 24) receives strong corroboration not only from the various
documents viz. the draft (manuscript) (Exh. P-21), carbon copy of
receipt (Exh. P-22), proof (Exh. P-23) of the
offending
leaflet,
carbon copy of the bill (Exh. P-24), entry (Exh. P-25) in his cash
book dated February 24, 1972 regarding the payment of the printing
charges of Rs. 45/- and entry (Exh. P-26) in his Order Book Register in respect of the leaflet produced by him but also from the letter
(Exh. P-20) which admittedly bears the signatures of the appellant
and contents whereof are in the handwriting of his brother, Surendra
Singh.
The letter runs as follows :-
"
Shri Ramprasadji,
Kamala Press,
Ujjain.
23.2.72
Please print 2000 pamphlets of the matter which I have
sent through Rajaram.
I need this pamphlet early. Hence
print it within a day or two.
I am sending Rs. 45/- with
Rajaram, which please accept.
The proof will be seen by
Hadaji, who will come to you.
Sd/- Kunwar Virendrasingh,
Member, Legislative
Assembly, M.P.
Constituency Khachrod,
District Ujjain."
The above letter, it would be seen, contains intrinsic evidence
which goes a long way to support the testimony of Ramprasad (P.W.
24). It clearly establishes (i) its own despatch to the witness by
A
c:
D
E
F
the appellant through Rajaram; (ii) the despatch to the witness by
G
the appellant through Rajaram of the draft or manuscript
of
the
matter to be printed,. (iii) the placing of the order by ,the appellant
for printing of 2,000 copies of the manuscript (Exh. P. 21) in the
form of leaflets; (iv) the remittance by the appellant through Rajaram
of Rs. 45/- to defray the printing charges; and (v) the advice
by
the appellant to the witness that the proof would be seen by Mr.
Anirudh Hada.
Although Mr. Hardy has tried hard to persuade us
H
to hold that the letter could not have been written by or at the instance of the appellant, we are not inclined to agree with him. There
is nothing unusual in the contents of the letter being in the hand of
A
B
c
D
E
F
H
532
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[l 977] l S.C.R.
Surendra Singh in view of the statement of Chander SingJl (R.W. 25)
(corroborated as it is by the clear admission of the appellant
himself that the relations between the two brothers i.e. Surendra Singh
and the appellant remained cordial from the time of the wedding of
the appellant's daughter which took place i'Il August, 1967 to nearly
four months after the general elections of 1972 and that in the said;
general elections, Surendra Singh worked with the appellant and also
accompanied him sometimes.
That Ramprasad's (P.W. 24's) statement
possesses a ring
of
truth and he was not trumped up by any of the arch enemies of the
appellant including Surendra Singh and R,ajendra Jain (P.W. 39)
as Mr. Hardy would have us believe is manifest from another telling
circumstance viz. the significant omission on the Part of the appellant
to contradict Ramprasad (P.W. 24) by examining Rajaram who was
no other than his own polling agent as is evident from Exhibit P-30
which admitttedly bears the
signatures of the appellant.
It can,
therefore, be safely presumed that Rajaram was not prepared
to
s~1μport the appellant by refuting the statement of Ramprasad (P.W.
24).
The assertion of the appellant that he deputed his brother, Surenclra Singh alongwith Chander Singh
(R.W. 25) to go to
Ranasan
in the State of Gujarat to bring his jeep from his relative, Thakur
Harish Chander Singh, who was not returning
the same
despite
several demands made from him through letters and telegrams;
rnat
while so deput~ng his brother he handed over to him six blank official letter heads which were used by him as a Member of the State
Legislative Assembly after putting his signatures and
affixing the
rubber stamp of his designation thereon so that they might be utilized for making reports /complaints to the Pol«:e or other officials
of the Transport Department in case his relative refused to return
his jeep and that Surendra Singh misused! one of the aforesaid letter'
heads and fabricated Exh. P-20 as his relations wi1th him became
strained over the demand for division of the landed property which
was got mutated by his father during his lifetime in the name of
Sm:cndra Singh's son is nothing but a tissue of lies woven to escape
the grave consequences of addressing the letter
(Exh.
P-20)
to
Ramprasad (P.W, 24).
The contents of the letter (Exh. P-20)
being, therefore, in the hand of Surendra Singh is not a circumstance
which can reasonably arouse suspicion
regarding its
genuineness.
On the contrary, it is consistent with tlie normal course of human
conduct.. It may well b~ that the appellant being otherwise busy,
dictated the contents of the letter (Exh.
P-20)
to his brother,
Surendra Singh and thereafter put his q_wn signature thereon.
It cannot also be overlooked that the appellant has been shifting
his stand from time to timei with regard to the aforesaid blank sheets
to suit his own conveni1ence. Whereas a~ one place in the complaint
(Exh. P-33) filed by him on July 31,1973, in the Court of Magistrate 1st Class, Khachrod, he averred that he delivered those forms
--
J(
VIRENDRA SINGH v. VIMAL KUMAR (Jaswant Singh, J.)
533
to Chand Singh Raghubanshi and Berulal, Driver, at another place
in the same complaint, he made a veiled averment to the effect that the
letter heads were handed over by, him to his brother, Surendra Singh.
The plea taken by 'the appellant that he gave six blank letter heads
with his 5ignatures thereon to his
brother, Surendra Singh,
is also
falsified by the First Information Report (Exh. R-79') made by him
to the station House Officer, Police Station, Chhatripura, Indore, on
September 26, 1973 wherein he appears to have stated that Surendra
Singh sold his Fiat car No. MPO. 1241 by forging his signatures on
a document. If the appellant had in fact handed over six blank
letter heads with his signatures thereon to Surendra Singh, as asserted by him, the latter could 'have easily used one of those letter heads.
It is also worthy of note that whereas' at the foot of the complaint (Exh. P-33), the appellant cited Chand Singh, s/o Saman Singh
Raghubanshi, resident of Mosi Gate, Khachrod as his witness, in the
instant election petition he has produced Chander Singh, sl o Chandrabhansingh of Khachrod as his witness in proof of the handing
over of the
aforesaid six letter heads bearing his signatures to
Surendra Singh.
It is also difficult to
beliteve that the
appellant
would hand . over half a dozen blank letter heads bearing his signatures to his brother, Surendra Singh specially when his wife, according
to his own admission in the report (Exh. R-84) dated July 26, 1973
accompanied his brother to Ranasan.
All these circumstances furnish
a proof positive of the falsity of the statement of the appellant in
regard to the circumstances in which letter (Exh. P.20) came into
existence.
The foregoing discu!lsion leaves no room for
doubt that it was
the appellant who got the offending
leaflet printed at the Kamla
Printi•ng Press, Ujjain.
This takes us to the crucial question of the distribution of the
offending leaflet by the appellant or his election agent or by some
other person with the consent either of the appellant or his election
agent.
Though the appellant and his election agent,
Anirudh Hada,
advocate (R. W. 1) have asserted that they had no connection wi'l:h
the distribution of the leaflet and the learned counsel for the appellant ha$· also sought to make capital out of the High Court's observation at one place that the distribution of the, leaflet was not by the
appellant or with his consent and at another place that the appellant
himself was responsible for the publication of' the leaflet (which according to the decision of this Court in Prabhu Nara.yan's
case (supra)
means distribution of the printed material).
We shall show by reference to the unimpeachable direct and circumstantial evidence which
the High Court has failed to consider in its proper perspective that the
only conclusion which could reasonably have been arrived at was that
the distribution of the leaflet (which -has not been disbelieved by the
High Court to have been made) was by and with the consent of the
appellant· or his election agent.
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[ 1977] 1 S.C.R.
. As already stated the respondent had alleged in the election petiA
t10n that the leaflet was distributed on two different dates and at two
dificrent places in his constituency-(!)
on
March
5, 1972
at
Shukravariya Bazar, Khachrod at the meeting of Jan Sangh at which
the
appellant and his election agent,
Anirudh Hada,
Advocate were seated on the dais and
(ii) on March 6, 1972 at
Nagda.
The distri•bution of the leaflet on March 5, 1972 is alleged
B
to have been made by Rampratap and on March 6, 1972 by Ram
Singh (P.W. 21). We propose to discuss the evidence with regard
to these two distributions separately.
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That a public meeting was organised and held on the afternoon
of March 5, 1972 by the Jan Sangh Party in Shukravariya Bazar,
Khachrod, at which the Rajmata of Gwalior, the appellant and his
election agent, Anirudh Hada, advocate
(R.W. 1)
were seated on
the dai'S and which was addressed by the Rajmata of Gwalior admits
of no doubt as the same is admitted by both the appellant and his
election agent, Anirudh Hada, (R. W.
1) as also by the appellant's
wib1ess, Ramdas (R.W; 24). It is only the distribution of the leaflet (Exh. P-10) at this meeting which is denied by them. The denial
cannot, however, be sustained in vilew of clear and convincing evi-<
dence of Badrilal (P.W. 15), Nanalal (P.W. 27) Khursheed Ahmed
(P.W. 35) and Shaitanmal Sisodia (P.W. 38). All these witnesses
have categorically stated that at the aforesaid
meeting at which besides others the Rajmata of Gwalior, the appellant and his election
agent, Anirudh Hada (R.W. 1) were seated on the dais, they saw
leaflet (Exh. P-10) which appeared to have been i'Ssued in the name
of a Nagrik of Khachrod being distributed to the persons who had
assembled to attend the meeting by Rampratap Dhaked of Khachrod.
The witnesses have further stated that in the aforesaid leaflet (Exh.
P-10), it was inter alia written that Rajendra Jain "while touring
abroad had taken cow meat." If the appellant or Anirudh Hada
had nothing to do with the distribution of the leaflet, there was nothing to stop them from restraining Rampratap from
distributing the
same or admonishing him for doing so. It is no doubt true that the
respondent has not been able to produce Rampratap in proof of his
allegation but it cannot be Jost sight of that the former did summon
the latter as his witness but he did not appear despite service. In
the course of the statement made by him as his own witness, the
respondent has explained t;hat on Rampratap's omission to appear
before the Court as. his witness
despite service, he contacted the
latter to enquire about the reason for his non-appearance and was
told by the latter that he could not attend the Court since his brother
was _married to the niece of Vardiram (R.W. 30) and his appeari'ng
as a witness in the Court would strain his relations with Vardiram.
In the course of his statement, Vardiram
(R.W. 30), who
is a
staunch worker of Jan Sangh and who appears to have worked for
Jan Sangh and addressed public meetings in support of its canditlates
during the last general elections had to admit that his real nephew
was engaged to the daughter of Rampratap. It is also significant that
though Rampratap was also summoned as a witness by the appellant,
the latter gave him up 1on December 12, 1973. It is, therefore, crys-1
tal clear that the non-appearance of Rampratap as a witness for the
• -
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VIRENDR,\ SINGH v. VIMAL KUMAR (Jaswant Singh, J.)
535
respondent was entirely due to his anxiety to maitntain cordial rela"!
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tions with Vardiram.
The totality of the evidence adduced
in t;he
case, therefory, leaves no room for doub5 that the distribution of the
leaflet (Exh. P--10) at the meeting of the Jan Sangh Party held on
the afternoon of March 5, 1972 in Shukravariya Bazar, Khachrod,
was with the consent of the appellant or his election agent, Anirudh
Hada, advocate (R.W. 1). The distribution of the copies of the
leaflet (Exh. P-10) at Nagda on March 6, 19;72 also stands proved:
B
by the direct evidence of Ram Singh (P.W. 21), Ajit Singh (P.W.
22), Shanker Singh (P.W. 23) and Jawahar Lal (P.W. 37).
Ram Singh, (P.W. 21) who besides being an employee
of the
Gwalior Rayon Mills is a newspaper hawker has stated that during
the last general elections, he worked for Thakur Vrrendrasingh who
was a candidate of the Jan Sangh party;. He has further stated that
two days before the date of voting, he distributed free of cost about
300 copies of leafie~ (Exh. P-10) in which it was stated that Rajen...;
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dra Jain was a meat eater, that he eats flesh and that the voters should
know him.
The witness has unequivocally stated that it was the
appellan~ who gave him the leaflets and asked him to distribute the.
same and told him that his remuneration for this job would be duly
paid to him and that subsequently, Rs. 4/- were paid to him as remuneration for distributing the leaflets by the President of Nagda
Nagar Jan Sangh Party.
Although it has been emphasized by Mr.
Hardy that the statement of Ram Singh (P.W. 21) cannot be relied
upon as he is a st?unch worker of the Congress organisation and is also
a member of the Indian National Trade Union Congress which is a
subsidiary institution of tbe Indian National Congress, it cannot be
ignored that the Indian National Congress and the Indian National
Trade Union Congress did not see eye tlo eye with each other in the
matter of choice of the candidates for election during the last general
elections. This is evident from the statement of appellant's own wit- .
ness, Vishnu Singh (R.W. 2) who has deposed ~hat the Indian National.
Trade Union Congress supported Maheshchandra Lala who was an
independent candidate.
The stateJllent of Ram Singh (P.W. 21) receives ample corrobo-.
ration from the evidence -of Shanker Singh (P.W. 23) and Jawahar,
Lal (P.W. 37) (who is a non-Congressman). These witnesses have
clearly stated that one or two days -before the date of voting, Ram
Singh (P.W. 21) who is also a newspaper hawker distributed copies
of leaflet (Exp. P-10) without any charge in Nagda in which it was
inter alia mentioned that Rajendra Jain was a cow meat eater and
during his trip abroad he stayed at the places when~ cow meat was
served. Ajit Singh (P.W. 22) has also affirmed that about two days
before t~ date of polling when he had gone to Nagda Mandi for
shopping, he came across a leaflet wherein it was
mentioned that
"while Rajendra Jain was abroad, he. stayed m hotels
where cow
meat was served and that he being a Jain, stayed in such hotels.''
Even if the testimony of Ram Singh (P.W. 21) which has been disbelieved by the High Court is excluded from consideration,
even
then there are some unimpeachable and telling pieees of circumstantial
evidence to establish the distribution of the leaflet (Exh. P-10) by the
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1977] 1 S.C.R.
appellant or with his consent which cannot be easily ignored. These
circums~ances are-(i) it was the appellant who as already observed
caused the election leaflet (Exh. P-10) to be printed by Ramprasad
(P.W. 24) at the Kamla Prin~i!Og Press, Ujjain; (ii) in the normal
course of human conduct, no one gets any material printed without
a purpose and in the instant case, !Qe purpose manifestly was to malign
the conduct and character of Rajendra Jain by distribution of
the
leaflet (Exh. P-10) amongst the inhabitants of Khachrod Constituency, (iii) the selectitm of time and place for distribution of the leaflet (Exh. P-10) which openly denounced Rajendra Jain and
cast
aspersions on his personal character and conduct and appealed to
the electorate not to vote for him. The offending leaflet was got dis~
tributed at a largely attended election meeting held at Khachrod to
canvass support for the appellant where both the appellant and his
election agent were present and at other places in :Nagd~ which! were
frequented by the voters of Khachrod Constituency at a ti'me when
the tempo of the electl,ion campaign was at its climax, and (iv) the
omission on the part of the appellant to prove that the leaflet (Exh.
P-10) emanated from a source which had
no connection with the
appellant or his election agent.
Not only is the distribuh\:m of the offending leaflet proved to have
been made by the appellant or his election agent or with their con.;
sen~ but it has also been proved by the unrebutted testimony of
Rajendra Jain that the leaflet contained false statement of facts cal~
culated to injure his personal conduct and character with a view
to prejudice the prospects of hi'S election.
In the result, the appeal fails and is hereby dismissed with costs.
P.B.R.
AppeaL dismissed-
. 18-1104SCI[76
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