TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (10) TMI 1603
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....aint before the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nagpur for registration of a case against the first Respondent Under Section 125-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1951 Act"). The learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nagpur by order dated 7th September, 2015 dismissed the complaint. In Revision, the learned Sessions Judge, Nagpur remanded the matter to the learned trial Court for a de novo consideration. Aggrieved, the first Respondent moved the High Court and the High Court having set aside the order of the learned Sessions Judge by its judgment and order dated 3rd May, 2018, the present appeals have been filed. 4. The complaint filed by the Appellant contains an allegation that in the affidavit in Form-26, prescribed by the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1961 Rules"), which had accompanied the nomination papers of the first Respondent details of two cases in which cognizance was taken i.e. (i) Summary Case No. 231 of 1996 (under Section 500 of Indian Penal Code) before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nagpur; and (ii) Regular Criminal Case No. 343 of 2003 (Old No. 125 of 1998) (und....
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....the benefit of citizens--voters. In a democratic form of government, voters are of utmost importance. They have right to elect or re-elect on the basis of the antecedents and past performance of the candidate. He has choice of deciding whether holding of educational qualification or holding of property is relevant for electing or re-electing a person to be his representative. Voter has to decide whether he should cast vote in favour of a candidate who is involved in criminal case. For maintaining purity of elections and healthy democracy, voters are required to be educated and well informed about the contesting candidates. Such information would include assets held by the candidate, his qualification including educational qualification and antecedents of his life including whether he was involved in a criminal case and if the case is decided--its result, if pending--whether charge is framed or cognizance is taken by the Court? There is no necessity of suppressing the relevant facts from the voters. [underlining is ours] Further, this Court issued the following directions to the Election Commission (para 48, pg. 322): 48. The Election Commission is directed to call fo....
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....avit, delivered Under Sub-section (2), at a conspicuous place at his office for the information of the electors relating to a constituency for which the nomination paper is delivered. [underlining is ours] It is pertinent to note here that Section 33-A(1), as worded and drafted, required furnishing of the information of cases where (i) the person filing the nomination has been convicted; and (ii) where charges have been framed against the person filing the nomination but excluded cases where cognizance had been taken. This was despite the order of this Court, noticed above, to the effect that details of case(s) of which cognizance has been taken should also be furnished. 10. The aforesaid discrepancy was addressed by this Court, in the case of People's Union for civil Liberties (PUCL) and Ors. v. Union of India (UOI) and Ors. (2003) 4 SCC 399 In the said case, this Court had examined the import of Sections 33-A and 33-B Section 33-B was also added through the 2002 Amendment. It stated that notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment of any Court, or any instruction issued by the Election Commission, no candidate shall be liable to disclose information n....
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....nd directive, Parliament has substantially proceeded on the same lines and made it obligatory for the candidate to furnish information as to whether he is Accused of any offence punishable with imprisonment for two years or more in a pending case in which a charge has been framed by the competent court. However, the case in which cognizance has been taken but charge has not been framed is not covered by Clause (i) of Section 33-A(1). Parliament having taken the right step of compelling disclosure of the pendency of cases relating to major offences, there is no good reason why it failed to provide for the disclosure of the cases of the same nature of which cognizance has been taken by the Court. It is common knowledge that on account of a variety of reasons such as the delaying tactics of one or the other Accused and inadequacies of the prosecuting machinery, framing of formal charges gets delayed considerably, especially in serious cases where committal procedure has to be gone through. On that account, the voter/citizen shall not be denied information regarding cognizance taken by the Court of an offence punishable with imprisonment for two years or more. The citizen's right t....
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....s to furnish information relating to Sub-section (1) of Section 33-A; or (ii) gives false information which he knows or has reason to believe to be false; or (iii) conceals any information, in his nomination paper delivered Under Sub-section (1) of Section 33 or in his affidavit which is required to be delivered Under Sub-section (2) of Section 33-A, as the case may be, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both. 12. Whether the provisions of Section 125-A of the 1951 Act would be applicable in the present case, as claimed by the Appellant-complainant, to make the first Respondent liable in law, would require the Court to decide on the true meaning and purport of the following phrases found in Section 125-A of the 1951 Act. (a) fails to furnish information relating to Sub-section (1) of Section 33-A; (b) conceals any information; (c) in his nomination paper delivered Under Sub-section (1) of Section 33 or in his affidavit which is required to be delivered Under Sub-section (2) of S....
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.....(**name of the political party)/**am contesting as an Independent candidate. (**Strike out whichever is not applicable) (2) My name is enrolled in .................................................(Name of the constituency and the State), at Serial No. .....................in Part No. ................... [(3) My contact telephone number(s) is/are.............................. and my E-mail ID (if any) is .......................... [(4) Details of Permanent Account Number (PAN) and status of filing of income tax return: Sl. No. Names PAN The financial year for which the last income-tax return has been filed. Total income shown in income tax return (in Rupees) 1. Self 2. Spouse 3. Dependent-1 4. Dependent-2 5. Dependent-3 5. I am/am not Accused of any offence(s) punishable with imprisonment for two years or more in a pending case(s) in which a charge(s) has/have been framed by the court(s) of competent jurisdiction. If the deponent is Accu....
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.... the conviction order. If so, details and the present status of the appeal. (7) That I give hereinbelow the details of the assets (movable and immovable etc.) of myself, my spouse and all dependents: A. Details of movable assets: Note: 1. Assets in joint name indicating the extent of joint ownership will also have to be given Note: 2. In case of deposit/investment, the details including serial number, amount, date of deposit, the scheme, name of the Bank/Institution and Branch are to be given. Note: 3. Value of Bonds/Share Debentures as per current market value in Stock exchange in respect of listed companies and as per books in case of non-listed companies should be given. Note: 4. Dependent here has the same meaning as assigned in Explanation (v) Under Section 75-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Note: 5: Details including amount is to be given separately in respect of each investment. Sl. No. Description Self Spouse Dependent-1 Dependent-2 Dependent-3 (i) Cash in hand (ii) Details of deposit in Bank accounts (F....
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....p; Date of Purchase in case of selfacquired property Cost of Land (in case of purchase) at the time of purchase Any investment on the land by way of development, construction etc. Approximate current market value (iii) Commercial Buildings (including apartments) -Location(s) -Survey number(s) Area (total measurement in sq.ft.) Built-up Area (total measurement in sq.ft.) Whether inherited property (Yes or No) Date of purchase in case of self acquired property Cost of property (in case of purchase) at the time of purchase Any investment on the property by way of development, construction etc. Approximate current market value (iv) Residential Buildings (including apartments): -Location(s) -Survey number(s) Area (total measurement in sq.ft.) ....
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....s Sales tax dues Any other dues (iii) Grand total of all Government dues (iv) Whether any other liabilities are in dispute, if so, mention the amount involved and the authority before which it is pending (9) Details of profession or occupation: (a) Self .................................................. (b) Spouse ................................................ (10) My educational qualification is as under-- (Give details of highest School/University education mentioning the full form of the certificate/diploma/degree course, name of the School/College/University and the year in which the course was completed.) Part B (11) Abstract of the details given in (1) to (10) of Part A: 1. Name of the candidate Sh./Smt./Kum 2. Full postal address 3. Number and n....
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.... VERIFICATION I, the deponent, abovenamed, do hereby verify and declare that the contents of this affidavit are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and no part of it is false and nothing material has been concealed therefrom. I further declare that-- (a) there is no case of conviction or pending case against me other than those mentioned in Items 5 and 6 of Part A and B above; (b) I, my spouse, or my dependents do not have any asset or liability, other than those mentioned in Items 7 and 8 of Part A and Items 8, 9 and 10 of Part B above. Verified at..............................this the.....................day of............................................. DEPONENT Note: 1. Affidavit should be filed latest by 3.00 PM on the last day of filing nominations. Note: 2. Affidavit should be sworn before an Oath Commissioner or Magistrate of the First Class or before a Notary Public. Note: 3. All column should be filled up and no column to be left blank. If there is no information to furnish in respect of any item, either "Nil" or "Not applicable", as the case may be, should be mentioned. ....
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....rliament and the State Legislatures hitherto were required to file two affidavits: one, in Form-26 appended to Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 and the other, in the Form prescribed by the Commission, vide its Order No. 3/ER/2003 dt. 27-03-2003, as subsequently modified by the letter of even number dt. 25-02-2011. In the affidavits, the candidates are required to declare information about their criminal background, if any, assets, liabilities and educational qualifications. 2. On a proposal moved by the Commission for amalgamating the two affidavits into one format, the Govt. has amended Form 26 so as to include in it all the information that was sought in the two separate affidavits. The Ministry of Law and Justice have notified the revised format 26 in the Gazette of India on 01-08-2012. A copy of the said notification dated 1st August, 2012 is enclosed herewith. 3. In view of the amendment to Form-26, all candidates shall, hereafter, file only one affidavit in the revised Form 26 notified on 01-08-2012 (at elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures). The requirements to be followed while filing the affidavit have been mentioned in the notes given at the....
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....f the complaint, then the RO was to file a complaint before the competent Court Under Section 177 of Indian Penal Code read with Section 195 of Code of Criminal Procedure. 3. Now that the affidavit is in Form 26 Under Section 33A of the R.P. Act, 1951, making false declaration/concealing of information in the affidavit would be covered Under Section 125A of the Act. Under Section 125A, there is no stipulation that complaints under the Section have to be made by the public servant concerned (in this case the R.O.). Therefore, it would be open to any aggrieved person to move petition before the appropriate Court of competent jurisdiction with petition for action Under Section 125A in the case of any false declaration or concealing of information in the affidavit in Form 26. [underlining is ours] 19. A cumulative reading of Section 33-A of the 1951 Act and Rule 4-A of the 1961 Rules and Form-26 along with the letters dated 24.8.2012, 26.9.2012 and 26.4.2014, in our considered view, make it amply clear that the information to be furnished Under Section 33-A of the 1951 Act includes not only information mentioned in Clauses (i) and (ii) of Section 33-A(1), but also inform....