<p class="bodytext">Electoral malpractices are common in India but rarely has the election of an MP or MLA been declared null and void on that count. In one rare case, the Karnataka High Court has declared as null and void the election of the lone Janata Dal (S) MP from Karnataka, Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. Prajwal had secured over 6.75 lakh votes during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, defeating his nearest rival, the BJP’s A Manju by a margin of over 1.4 lakh votes in Hassan constituency. Two petitioners, G Devarajegowda, a voter, and Manju, the defeated candidate, had questioned Prajwal’s victory on the ground that he had indulged in electoral malpractice by failing to correctly disclose his assets while filing his nomination. According to the petitioners, Prajwal had suppressed income of over Rs 24 crore. The court also directed issue of notice to Prajwal’s father, former minister H D Revanna, and brother Suraj Revanna, MLC, for allegedly facilitating proxy voting. While partly allowing the petitions, the court rejected the prayer to declare Manju as the winning candidate as he himself was involved in electoral malpractices.</p>.Upset Prajwal Revanna leaves meeting as Karnataka HC invalidates his LS membership .<p class="bodytext">While the court order will hopefully send a strong warning to other candidates for election, concealing of information in affidavits is nothing new. There have been a few instances of elected representatives being disqualified for corrupt practices like bribery, but this is a rather isolated case where an election victory has been nullified on account of non-disclosure of information. For instance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has himself been accused of concealing his marital status and ownership of a plot of land in election affidavits in Gujarat. Similarly, Union minister Smriti Irani has been charged with falsifying her educational qualifications in successive election affidavits.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Failing to provide basic information like assets, liabilities, education qualifications and criminal antecedents, or falsifying such details, is punishable with imprisonment of up to six months under Section 125A of the Representation of People Act (RPA). While an offence under Section 123, that is, ‘corrupt practices’ including ‘bribery, undue influence, appealing to vote or not on grounds of caste, religion etc.,’ could lead to disqualification, courts have usually taken a lenient view of non-disclosure due to the lack of clarity under Section 125A. Thus, the Karnataka High Court order is a landmark judgement because it bridges a major legal lacuna by declaring falsification of affidavits as a ‘corrupt practice’ which would result in disqualification. It is to be hoped that this will not only discourage filing of false affidavits but will also uphold the right of voters to possess complete details of the candidates in the fray.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Electoral malpractices are common in India but rarely has the election of an MP or MLA been declared null and void on that count. In one rare case, the Karnataka High Court has declared as null and void the election of the lone Janata Dal (S) MP from Karnataka, Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. Prajwal had secured over 6.75 lakh votes during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, defeating his nearest rival, the BJP’s A Manju by a margin of over 1.4 lakh votes in Hassan constituency. Two petitioners, G Devarajegowda, a voter, and Manju, the defeated candidate, had questioned Prajwal’s victory on the ground that he had indulged in electoral malpractice by failing to correctly disclose his assets while filing his nomination. According to the petitioners, Prajwal had suppressed income of over Rs 24 crore. The court also directed issue of notice to Prajwal’s father, former minister H D Revanna, and brother Suraj Revanna, MLC, for allegedly facilitating proxy voting. While partly allowing the petitions, the court rejected the prayer to declare Manju as the winning candidate as he himself was involved in electoral malpractices.</p>.Upset Prajwal Revanna leaves meeting as Karnataka HC invalidates his LS membership .<p class="bodytext">While the court order will hopefully send a strong warning to other candidates for election, concealing of information in affidavits is nothing new. There have been a few instances of elected representatives being disqualified for corrupt practices like bribery, but this is a rather isolated case where an election victory has been nullified on account of non-disclosure of information. For instance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has himself been accused of concealing his marital status and ownership of a plot of land in election affidavits in Gujarat. Similarly, Union minister Smriti Irani has been charged with falsifying her educational qualifications in successive election affidavits.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Failing to provide basic information like assets, liabilities, education qualifications and criminal antecedents, or falsifying such details, is punishable with imprisonment of up to six months under Section 125A of the Representation of People Act (RPA). While an offence under Section 123, that is, ‘corrupt practices’ including ‘bribery, undue influence, appealing to vote or not on grounds of caste, religion etc.,’ could lead to disqualification, courts have usually taken a lenient view of non-disclosure due to the lack of clarity under Section 125A. Thus, the Karnataka High Court order is a landmark judgement because it bridges a major legal lacuna by declaring falsification of affidavits as a ‘corrupt practice’ which would result in disqualification. It is to be hoped that this will not only discourage filing of false affidavits but will also uphold the right of voters to possess complete details of the candidates in the fray.</p>
