Electoral Roll Finality Limits Court Review of Ordinary Residence Challenges in Election Petitions

The electoral roll regime under Articles 326 and 327, read with the Representation of the People Acts, 1950 and 1951, operates through a self-contained statutory machinery. Ordinary residence is a condition for registration under Section 19 of the 1950 Act, and Section 30 bars civil court review of entitlement to registration and of decisions made by electoral registration authorities. On that scheme, the High Court in an election petition cannot go behind the electoral roll to re-examine a candidate's ordinary residence for the purpose of challenging the validity of his entry or his qualification to stand for election.

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Issues: Whether the High Court in an election petition could go behind the electoral roll and examine whether a returned candidate was ordinarily resident in the constituency so as to question the validity of the entry of his name and, on that basis, his qualification to stand for election.

Analysis: Article 326 and Article 327 of the Constitution, together with the scheme of the Representation of the People Acts, 1950 and 1951, show that preparation and maintenance of electoral rolls are governed by a self-contained statutory machinery. Section 19 of the 1950 Act makes ordinary residence a condition for registration, while Section 30 bars civil court review of entitlement to registration and of decisions taken by electoral registration authorities. The definition of

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