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TMI Blog1971 (5) TMI 76X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... held in February 1967. The appellant had contested the election on the ticket of the Indian National Congress whereas respondent No. 1 had contested it as an independent candidate. The charges on which the appellant's learned counsel has concentrated before us relate to:- (i) the alleged corrupt practice of publication of false statements relating to the personal character and conduct of the appellant; (ii) the incurring of election expenses in excess of the prescribed limit; and (iii) the alleged disqualifications of the respondent on the ground that he had a subsisting contract with the State within the contemplation of Section 9A of the Act. The charge of bribery pressed in the High Court was not re-agitated in this appeal. 2 . The first point canvassed before us relates to the alleged corrupt practice of publication of false statement of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of the appellant as contemplated by Section 123 Sub-section (4) of the Act. Arguments on this point were confined to sub-issues (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) & (g) of Issue No. 5 and the relevant sub-issues of Issue No. 6. The aforesaid sub-issues of Issue No. 5 cover the plea con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pointed out was that a prosecution was pending against Mangi Lal Joshi and that he was charged with embezzlement of the funds of the Mazdoor Sangh and of the donations of the workers. Though in the written statement the returned candidate denied that he had continued to be present at the meeting, the Court below held that he was present throughout and this finding in our view must be accepted. He also denied that the statement made by the speakers at the meeting had been made with his consent but in the circumstances of the case we would assume that he cannot disown those statements which were made in his interest and, therefore, they were in all probability made with his approval. 5 . In regard to the publication in 'Ranchandi' the respondent pleaded in the written statement that the Editor of the weekly used to publish election material on his own responsibility and that the respondent had no concern with the statements published therein. The subject-matter published in the issue of June 16, 1968 was stated not to have been published with the respondent's consent. He, however, proceeded, without prejudice, to add that the statements of fact contained therein were not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... some decisions of this Court on the construction to be placed on Section 123 Sub-section (4) of the Act which were cited in the High Court, that court came to the conclusion that the appellant had failed to prove that the impugned statements were false or were either believed to be false or not believed to be true by the speakers and the returned candidate. This conclusion was arrived at in the background of the fact that the criminal complaint had been filed against the appellant by one Lal Singh, as far back as July 1965. Lal Singh appeared as witness for the respondent as R.W. 13 in the High Court and proved his complaint from the original record of criminal case No. 52 of 1965 in the Court of Additional Magistrate (Jud.), Dewas. A certified copy of that complaint Exhibit D. 1 was also placed on the record. According to that complaint it was alleged that Mangilal Joshi was the President of Dewas Mill Mazdoor Sangh and had held that office for the preceding 9 years. Several amounts relating to membership fee were stated to have been collected from the workers and the amount of several thousand rupees were neither deposited with the Mazdoor Sangh office nor entered in the related ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as re-agitated all these points. We may first dispose of the point of disqualification. Section 9A of the Act on which the entire argument rests, reads:- 10. Disqualification for Government contracts. A person shall be disqualified if, and for so long as, there subsists a contract entered into by him in the course of his trade or business with the appropriate Government for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any works undertaken by, that Government. It is unnecessary for the purpose of this case to reproduce the explanation. It is clear that this section only covers contracts which have been entered into by a person in the course of his trade or business with the appropriate Government for the supply of goods to or for the execution of any works undertaken by that Government. Dr. Singhvi contended that the supply of electricity would amount to the supply of goods. That perhaps is so. But, in our opinion, the contract of supply of electricity by the Electric Supply Company can by no means be considered to be a contract entered into by respondent No. 1 in the course of his trade or business by reason merely of the fact that he was at the relevant time Chairman of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... this complaint dated July 27, 1965, had been filed against him which was pending at the time of the bye-election in question and that a charge had also been framed in that case on August 22, 1968 (Ext. P/9). He further admitted that Lal Singh was a mill worker in the Dewas Standard Mill and was also a representative of the Indian National Trade Union Congress of Dewas. Lal Singh appeared as R.W. 13 and proved that complaint and also a part of his statement dated April 12, 1968 made in the Court of the Magistrate. The returned candidate appearing as R.W. 17 stated that he knew of this complaint. The High Court on appraisal of the entire material on the record expressed its final conclusion on Issues 5(f) and 6(a) to (h), which are the relevant issues, in these words: Assuming, though not admitting, that the petitioner has succeeded in proving the falsity of the impugned statement, even then he is not out of the woods. As held in Sheopalsingh v. Rampratap [1965]1SCR175 even if the statement is false the candidate making it is protected unless he makes it believing it to be false not believing it to be true i.e., to say statements which are not true but made bona fide are also outsi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is absolutely no material on the record. This challenge by the appellant also fails. 12. Dr. Singhvi, we may in fairness to him point out, took considerable pains to persuade us to hold that the order of the criminal Court framing the charge is inadmissible in the proceedings. It was also submitted that the charge having been framed afterwards could not be taken into account for considering whether the impugned statements could be believed to be true at the time they were made. Dr. Singhvi submitted that if the order of the criminal Court is ignored and if the appellant's denial about embezzlement is taken into account then the statements made at the meeting and those published in 'Ranchandi' must be held to be false and believed to be so or not believed to be true. This argument is difficult to accept. To begin with, the appellant has himself admitted on oath as a witness that the complaint was filed against him for embezzlement and a charge was also framed in those proceedings. This admission cannot be ignored. We are also not inclined to agree with Dr. Singhvi that the order framing the charge or the complaint are inadmissible in evidence. Dr. Singhvi has not drawn ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing the relevant period. Neither these extracts nor the evidence of this witness establishes the additional expenditure of ₹ 2000/- as pleaded by the petitioner. The returned candidate Shri Krishnajirao Pawar (R.W. 17) has deposed that at the relevant time he owned two jeeps, five cars, one tractor and one pick-up van and agricultural land of about 500 acres. He also deposed that during the period of this bye-election he used only the jeeps for election propaganda but petrol was purchased not only for the jeeps but for cars also which were used for house-hold purposes. He further deposed that Diesel was used for agricultural purposes. His testimony further shows that he had instructed M/s. A.J. Khanuja and Sons Dewas that petrol and oil purchased for the election purposes should be marked distinctly and, therefore, he used to sent the counter-foil for purchase of petrol and oil which used to be marked with latter 'g' to indicate that the same were purchase for election purposes. About marking, the petitioner's witness, Daulatrao (P.W. 1) says something. The total costs of the marked items so called out from the extracts (Ex. P. 1 and P. 2) have not been shown to b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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