Election affidavit compliance under prescribed form does not fail merely for omitting source of information and belief.

An election petition affidavit accompanying allegations of corrupt practice was challenged for not stating the source of information and grounds of belief. The Bombay HC held that Form 25 under Rule 94-A of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 governs the affidavit and does not require such disclosure, unlike affidavits filed for interlocutory purposes under Order 19 Rule 3 CPC. Substantial compliance with the prescribed form was sufficient, and the absence of a specific requirement in the election-form affidavit did not make it defective. The Court also held that any defect under Section 83 did not, by itself, attract dismissal under Section 86. The petition was therefore not liable to dismissal on that ground.

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Issues: Whether the affidavit filed with the election petition was defective for not stating the source of information and grounds of belief in respect of allegations of corrupt practice, and if so, whether the petition was liable to be dismissed.

Analysis: The election petition alleged corrupt practice and was accompanied by an affidavit in the form prescribed under Rule 94-A of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. The affidavit stated which parts of the pleadings were based on personal knowledge and which were based on information and belief. The objection was that Order 19 Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 required disclosure of the source of information and grounds of belief. The Court held that Form 25 did not require such disclosure, that the election affidavit serves a purpose different from affidavits used in interlocutory applications, and that the absence of a specific requirement in the prescribed form showed that compliance with the form was sufficient. The Court further held that any defect in compliance with Section 83 did not attract dismissal under Section 86.

Conclusion: The affidavit was not defective, and the election petition was not liable to be dismissed on that ground.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an election petition affidavit substantially complies with the prescribed form under the election rules, the omission to state the source of information or grounds of belief does not by itself render the affidavit defective or make the petition liable to dismissal, unless the governing rules expressly require such disclosure.

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