Electoral roll entries cannot be collaterally challenged in an election petition absent constitutional disqualification.

Registration in the electoral roll must be questioned within the statutory machinery under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, including the prescribed processes for objection, revision, correction and appeal. A collateral enquiry in an election petition into the correctness of an entry, including ordinary residence for registration purposes, is not permissible unless a constitutional disqualification is shown. The Court distinguished challenges to electoral roll entries from challenges based on constitutional ineligibility and affirmed that the roll entry could not be reopened in the election petition; the finding in favour of the returned candidate was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the validity of an entry in the electoral roll could be questioned in an election petition, and whether the returned candidate's election could be challenged on the ground that he was not duly qualified as an elector.

Analysis: The statutory scheme of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, made registration in the electoral roll subject to the machinery provided by that Act. The provisions governing preparation, revision, correction, appeal, and finality of electoral rolls showed that objections to inclusion or omission had to be pursued within that framework. The constitutional scheme under Articles 173, 324, 325, 326, 327 and 329 did not permit a collateral enquiry in an election petition into whether a person was ordinarily resident for purposes of registration, except where a constitutional disqualification was established. The Court distinguished challenges based on constitutional ineligibility from challenges to the correctness of electoral roll entries, and held that the latter could not be reopened in the election petition.

Conclusion: The challenge to the electoral roll entry was not entertainable in the election petition, and the finding in favour of the returned candidate on that issue was affirmed.

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