TMI Blog1964 (10) TMI 105X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... first respondent thereupon preferred an. election petition before the Election Commission challenging the appellant's election on the following five grounds: (1) That the second respondent had not completed 25 years of age on the date of the scrutiny of the nomination papers, that the acceptance of his nomination paper was improper and that the result of the election was materially affected thereby inasmuch as all the votes secured by him, would, if he had not been a candidate, have been secured by the first respondent; (2) that the appellant was guilty of corrupt practices because he and his agents had bribed the voters and had also brought undue influence to bear upon them; (3) that the appellant and his agents procured bus No. GTA 7673 for taking the voters from village Sodpur to and from the polling booths; (4) that the appellant and his agents had issued and widely distributed leaflets with' 'star' as a symbol prefixed by the word Dhruva with a view to give religious impetus and to appeal to the voters to vote for him in the name of religion; (5) that certain notifications issued by the Governor of the State of Gujarat and the Election Commissi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... No. 1 and respondent No. 1 was content to stake his case only on one point, and that is, the one which ultimately found favour with the High Court. It is true that an election, dispute is to a certain extent different from a private dispute between the parties to a list because the constituency also comes into the picture and, therefore, it is the duty of the Election Tribunal to safeguard its interests and if corrupt practices are alleged against any candidate to enquire into them and ascertain whether the allegations have been substantiated. Here, the Tribunal's findings were that the other corrupt practices had not been established. Since Mr. Dam who appeared for respondent No. 1 did not even seek to challenge those findings there was no further duty upon the High Court to examine their correctness. Similarly, the contention of respondent No. 1 to the effect that certain notifications were invalid was also negatived by the Tribunal and Mr. Dam did not want to challenge its decision. The question whether a particular notification is valid or invalid has no bearing upon the question of purity of elections and, therefore, if a party who raises a contention of this kind does no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or, it must be borne in mind that the object underlying the prohibition is stirring up religious sentiment by use of or appeal to a religious symbol. If what is done does not tend to arouse religious sentiment, Section 123(3) would not be transgressed. (7) It is not disputed that the Election Commission has allotted 'star' as a symbol to the Swatantra Party which had put forward the appellant as its candidate. Nor is it disputed that in some of the leaflets and pamphlets distributed by or on behalf of the appellant the election symbol of the Swatantra Party is described as the star Dhruva or the Pole Star. It is also not disputed that on some pamphlets the following characteristics associated with the star Dhruva are set out: Dhruva means eternal. Dhruva means firm. Dhruva means guide. Dhruva means determined. Dhruva means one, devoted to religion. In Exhibit 63 which is the translation of the Election manifesto of the appellant it is further said: for free religion, free agriculture and free commerce, vote for none else but the 'Dhruvano Taro' that is Swatantra Party, at the coming elections. Not a single pamphlet for leaflet is alleged to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... literate and religious minded Hindu. It is said that) the word Dharma Priya , a quality of Dhruva mentioned in the leaflet and pamphlets, gives religious significance to the Dhruva star. The word 'Dharma' can mean religion. But it can also mean 'duty'. According to the High Court it must be taken to mean 'one devoted' to religion' and for arriving at this conclusion it has, as already stated, referred to the Vishnu. Purana, the Bhagwat and the Mahabharata. It has also referred to the evidence of a witness who says that the Dhruva star is worshipped at the time of marriage and at the time of entry into a new house. But all this only shows that Dhruva was regarded as a great devotee of Vishnu and held in reverence by Hindus. It clearly negatives the idea of Dhruva being at Godhead. Worship of mortals is so common, at least in our country, that no one can seriously attach religious significance to it. Such worship has no connection whatsoever with religion and is often motivated by fear of authority or by hope of reward. It is said that the remembrance and repetition of Dhruva's name has religious efficacy. The prevalence of such a belief amongst the H ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is a symbol of the Hindu religion. It is true that various deities in the Hindu pantheon are associated with some specific objects, birds or animals. Thus, for example, Shiva is associated with a trident and a coiled cobra round his neck; Vishnu is associated with the cobra 'Shesha' on which he reclines as upon a bed; the eagle is associated with Vishnu as his vehicle; the goddess Lakshmi is associated with lotus upon which she stands and so on and so forth. Does it mean then that if a person uses a lotus or a cobra or a trident as his election symbol he will be appealing to the religious sentiments of the people ? The answer must be clearly in the negative. (11) What is a religious symbol has also been considered by this Court in Shubnath Deogram v. Ram, Narain Prasad, [1960]1SCR953 . In that case the appellant who had been set up by the Jharkhand Party had been elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He was an Adibasi belonging to the Ho community and the electorate in that constituency largely consisted off Adibasis belonging to this community as well as to two others, Miundas and Oraons. The Election Commission had allotted 'Cock' as the emblem to the part ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... phets or religions or to deities venerated in a religion or to their qualities and deeds does not necessarily amount to an appeal to the religious sentiment of the electorate. Something more has to be shown for this purpose as indeed, according to the majority of the Judges who decided that case, was established therein. If, for instance, the illiterate, the orthodox or the fanatical electors are told that their religion would be in danger or they will suffer miseries or calamities unless they cast their vote for a particular candidate, that would be quite clearly an appeal to the religious sentiment of the people Similarly if they are told that the wrath of God or of a deity will visit them if they do not exercise their franchise in a particular way or if they are told that they will receive the blessings of God or a deity if they vote in a particular way, that would be an appeal to the religious sentiment. Similarly if they are told that they should cast their vote for a particular candidate whose election symbol is associated with a particular religion just as the Cross is with Christianity, that will be using a religious symbol for obtaining votes. But where, as in the case of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ithin the mischief of Section 123(3), Courts should not be astute to read into the words used in the appeal anything more than can be attributed to them on its fair and reasonable construction. ................The document must be read as a whole and its purport and effect determined in a fair, objective and reasonable manner. In reading such documents, it would be unrealistic to ignore the fact that ..........the atmosphere is usually surcharged with partisan feelings and emotions and the use of hyperboles or exaggerated language, or the adoption of metaphors, and the extravagance of expression in attacking one another, are all part of the game; and so, when the question about the effect of speeches delivered or pamphlets distributed at election meetings is argued in the cold atmosphere of a judicial chamber, some allowance must be made and the impugned speeches or pamphlets must be construed in that light. We agree that election literature should neither be judged strictly nor taken literally. All the greater reason, therefore, that the Courts ought not to read more in such literature than what appears on its face. But what, unfortunately, the High Court has done in the case ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pears to be some force in this contention; but we do not think it necessary to decide this point in the present appeal. Mr. Aggarwal's objection assumes that respondent 1 should have preferred a petition for special leave to appeal against the finding of the High Court oh the issue in question; if that be so, the, application made by her for leave to urge additional grounds can be converted into a petition for special leave to appeal against the said finding, and the delay made in filing the same can be condoned. (p. 141.71 (of SCR)): (18) It is obvious that the Division Bench followed the earlier Division Bench only because it has considered itself bound by at. It seems to us, with respect, that the earlier decision does not correctly represent the true legal position. For, as soon as special leave is granted there is an appeal before this Court and while dealing with such an appeal this Court exercises its civil jurisdiction. It is true that the rules framed by this Court in exercise of its rule making powers do not contain any provision analogous to Order XLI, Rule 22 of the Code of Civil Procedure which permits a party to support the judgment appealed against upon a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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