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Issues Involved:
1. Whether Shri John was born on May 14, 1946, or May 14, 1943. 2. Whether the election of Shri John was valid given his age. 3. Whether Shri V. Subramanyam should be declared elected in lieu of Shri John. Detailed Analysis: Issue 1: Whether Shri John was born on May 14, 1946, or May 14, 1943. The primary contention was the birthdate of Shri John. The petitioners argued that Shri John was born on May 14, 1946, making him less than 30 years old on the date of nomination scrutiny (March 9, 1974), thus disqualifying him under Article 84(b) of the Constitution. The appellant, Shri John, claimed he was born on May 14, 1943. The court found that the burden of proof was on the election petitioners, who successfully discharged it by presenting overwhelming documentary evidence. This included multiple applications and declarations made by Shri John himself between 1964 and 1973, consistently stating his birthdate as May 14, 1946. These documents were: - Application for Pre-University Examination (Ex.P.7) - Application for B.A. Examination (Ex.P-9) - Application for appearing in University Examination (Ex. P-l4) - Application for the first B.G.L. Examination (Ex.P-l5) - Application for admission to B.G.L. Examination (Ex.P-l7) - Application for second B.G.L. Examination April 1972 (Ex.P-l8) - Application for second BGL Examination, October 1972 (Ex.P-19) - Application for admission into Law College (Ex.P-21) - Application for B.L. Degree Examination (Ex.-22) - Applications dated 23-7-1973 for enrolment as Advocate submitted to the Bar Council (Ex.P-23(a), (b) & (c)) - Voters Card containing declaration of his age as 28 years signed by Shri John (Ex.P-27) - A book written by Shri John, containing a passage suggesting he was born in 1946 (Ex.P-87) Additional documentary evidence included: - St. Xavier's College School records (Exhibit P-1) - Secondary School Leaving Certificate (Ex.P-4) - Fort St. George Gazette (Ex.P-50) - Marriage Register (Ex.P-29) showing Shri John's age as 26 years on 6-4-1972 - Periodical report from the Churches (Ex.P-30) The court found no material error in the trial judge's appreciation of this evidence and held that Shri John was indeed born on May 14, 1946. Issue 2: Whether the election of Shri John was valid given his age. Given the established birthdate of May 14, 1946, Shri John was less than 30 years old on the date of nomination scrutiny. As per Article 84(b) of the Constitution, this disqualified him from contesting the Rajya Sabha election. Hence, his nomination was improperly accepted, materially affecting the election's result. Consequently, the High Court rightly set aside Shri John's election. Issue 3: Whether Shri V. Subramanyam should be declared elected in lieu of Shri John. The court considered whether Shri V. Subramanyam, who secured 300 votes, should be declared elected in place of Shri John. Shri Subramanyam argued that since Shri Mohana Rangam did not secure any votes, he should be automatically excluded, leaving Shri Subramanyam as the sole continuing candidate. However, the court held that Shri Mohana Rangam was not automatically excluded and remained a continuing candidate. The election rules did not provide for automatic exclusion of a candidate who secured no votes in the first count. Both Shri Subramanyam and Shri Mohana Rangam were continuing candidates, and Shri Subramanyam did not secure the required quota of 3,201 votes. The court also rejected the argument that votes cast for Shri John should be treated as thrown away. The electors were unaware of Shri John's disqualification at the time of voting. It was speculative to assume how the votes would have been distributed had the electors known about the disqualification. The court cited the precedent from R.M. Seshadri v. G.V. Pai, emphasizing the unpredictability of voting patterns under such circumstances. The court concluded that Shri Subramanyam could not be declared elected as he neither secured the required quota nor was the sole continuing candidate. The appeals were dismissed, and parties were left to bear their own costs.
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