Election petition party joinder rules allow impleadment where omission of a nominated candidate does not defeat maintainability.

Omission to implead a duly nominated candidate in an election petition under section 82 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 was treated as non-fatal where no express dismissal consequence was attached to that defect. The statutory scheme distinguished mandatory non-compliance under sections 81, 83 and 117 from section 82, and the trial of election petitions was to proceed, as nearly as may be, under the Code of Civil Procedure. On that basis, section 82 was treated as directory in this context, and the tribunal could apply the procedural rules, including Order I principles, to permit impleadment and continue with the petition.

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Issues: Whether the omission to implead a duly nominated candidate as a respondent in an election petition under section 82 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 was fatal to maintainability, and whether such omission could be cured by applying the procedural provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Analysis: The statutory scheme distinguished between provisions whose non-compliance attracted express dismissal and section 82, for which no comparable consequence was provided. The Act expressly empowered dismissal for defects under sections 81, 83 and 117, while the trial of election petitions was directed to proceed, as nearly as may be, in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure. The Court treated section 82 as directory rather than mandatory in the sense that non-joinder did not automatically destroy the petition, especially where the omitted candidate was not shown to be a necessary party whose absence prevented effective adjudication. The scheme of the Act also showed that party defects could be dealt with by the tribunal under the procedural rules made applicable to election petitions, including the principles underlying Order I of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Conclusion: The non-joinder was not fatal, and the tribunal had jurisdiction to permit impleadment and proceed with the petition.

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