Khanna, J. - (1.) This is an appeal by Shiv Charan Singh against the judgment of the Rajasthan High Court whereby election petition filed by the appellant to question the election of Brijendra Pal Respondent from the Karauli constituency to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly was dismissed.
(2.) The appellant and the respondent were the main candidates in the election to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from the Karauli constituency. The result of the election was declared on March, 12, 1972 and the respondent was declared elected. The appellant challenged the election of the respondent on the ground that the respondent and his election agent Jagdish Pal published and got published statements of fact in relation to the personal character and conduct of the appellant which were false and which they believed to be false or did not believe to be true and which statements were reasonably calculated to prejudice the prospects of the appellant's election. The second ground on which the election of the respondent was assailed was that the respondent and his election agent deliberately failed to maintain regular and correct account of expenses incurred by them in connection with the election and that they incurred or authorised expenditure in contravention of Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. As regards the first ground, it was stated that the respondent and his election agent got published news item Ex. 1 in "Kronch", a Hindi weekly, dated February 25, 1972 published and printed in Jaipur. Radhey Shyam Sharma was the editor of that weekly. The aforesaid news item was stated to contain false defamatory statements of fact in relation to the personal character and conduct of the appellant. It was added that the respondent and his election agent and Radhey Shyam Sharma believed those statements, which were calculated to prejudice the prospects of the appellant's election, to be false and did not believe them to be true. Radhey Shyam Sharma was also stated to have addressed an election meeting of the respondent on February 27, 1972 at Chogan in Karauli city and read out news item Ex. 1. Copies of the aforesaid issue of Kronch were also stated to have been distributed in that meeting in the presence of the respondent and his election agent. According further to the appellant, Radhey Shyam Sharma got published pamphlet Ex. 2 printed at the instance of and with the consent of the respondent and his election agent. This pamphlet was also as objectionable as news item Ex. 1. The pamphlet was stated to have been distributed by the respondent, his election agent and Radhey Shyam Sharma at an election meeting at Bhudara on 2-3-1972. Radhey Shyam Sharma was further alleged to have published another issue Ex. 3 of Kronch containing defamatory statements of fact against the appellant. These statements were also stated to be objectionable in the same manner as those contained in news item Ex. 1. As regards the election expenses, it was stated, the respondent had not shown the expenses actually incurred by him in the matter of hiring of vehicles, purchase of petrol, arrangement of a procession and employment and entertainment of his workers. The respondent, it was claimed, had incurred an expense to the extent of at least Rs. 35,000 over and above the amount shown by him in the return of election expenses.
(3.) The petition was resisted by the respondent and he denied the various allegations made by the appellant. According to the respondent, Radhey Shyam Sharma was hostile to the appellant and had as long ago as October 15, 1970 bitterly criticised the activities of the appellant in an issue of Kronch. The respondent denied that he had anything to do with the publication by Radhey Shyam Sharma of the different issues of Kronch and pamphlet Ex. 2. It was also denied that the issues of Kronch or the pamphlet in question were distributed in the meetings of the respondent. The allegation that the issues of Kronch and the pamphlet in question contained statements of fact which were false and which the respondent believed to be false or did not believe to be true and that those statements were calculated to prejudice the prospects of the appellant's election was likewise denied. According to the respondent, the allegations contained in the impugned issues of Kronch and the pamphlet had earlier been made in some other papers and on the floor of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. They had also been made by one Babulal Sharma, Convenor of Yuvak Congress Mandal, Karauli. As regards the election expenses, the respondent stated that he had maintained a proper and correct statement of account and had not incurred any expenditure over and above the amount of Rs. 8,665.69 shown in his return.;