Poonam vs Dule Singh

2025 INSC 1284 REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY APPELLATE JURISDICTION

SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 12000 OF 2025

POONAM PETITIONER VERSUS DULE SINGH & ORS. RESPONDENTS

JUDGMENT

ATUL S. CHANDURKAR, J.

1. The petitioner suffered a conviction under Section 138 of the

Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. She, however, failed to disclose

her conviction in the nomination form for the election to the post of

Councillor. Her election was challenged by the first respondent, and

the trial Court unseated her from the post of Councillor holding her

to be disqualified under the provisions of The Madhya Pradesh

Municipalities Act, 1961. The revision application preferred by the

petitioner having been dismissed, she has preferred the present Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by KAPIL TANDON Special Leave Petition.

Date: 2025.11.06 16:22:56 IST Reason:

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 1 of 32

2. In the elections held for the post of Councillor at Nagar

Parishad, Bhikangaon, the petitioner came to be elected from Ward

No.5 securing the highest number of votes. Notification to that effect

dated 04.10.2022 came to be issued. The first respondent filed an

election petition under Section 20 of the Madhya Pradesh

Municipalities Act, 1961 (hereinafter, “the Act of 1961”) read with The

Madhya Pradesh Nagar Palika Nirvachan Niyam, 1994 (hereinafter

“the Rules of 1994”) and sought a declaration that the petitioner be

held disqualified for holding the post of Councillor and that her seat

be declared as vacant. In the election petition, it was pleaded by the

first respondent that on 07.08.2018, the petitioner had been

convicted in proceedings filed under Section 138 of the Negotiable

Instruments Act, 1881 (hereinafter, “the Act of 1881”). She had been

sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year

and also ordered to pay compensation. The fact of her conviction,

however, had not been disclosed by the petitioner in the affidavit

filed along with the nomination form as required by Rule 24-A of the

Rules of 1994. Though other grounds of challenge were also raised,

same are not relevant for the present purpose. It was thus prayed

that the petitioner be declared disqualified from holding the post of

Councillor.

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 2 of 32

3. The petitioner filed her reply and opposed the election petition

by raising a plea that the order of conviction dated 07.08.2018 was

no longer in existence as the same had set aside in appeal. She

stated that the election petition was liable to be dismissed as she

had not incurred any disqualification as mentioned in Section 35 of

the Act of 1961.

4. The parties led evidence before the trial Court and after

considering the same, the learned Judge of the trial Court held that

the petitioner had been convicted under Section 138 of the Act of

1881 which fact had not been disclosed in the affidavit filed along

with the nomination form. It was further held that since it was

mandatory on the part of a candidate to disclose if he/she had

suffered any conviction, the voters had a right to obtain correct

information. As the conviction of the petitioner was not mentioned in

her affidavit, it was clear that this had affected the voters from Ward

No.5. The election of the petitioner was held to be materially

affected. It was thus concluded that since the petitioner failed to

disclose the fact of her conviction in her affidavit, she was

disqualified from continuing as a Councillor. By the judgment dated

17.02.2025, the election of the petitioner was set aside holding her

to be disqualified for holding the post of Councillor from Ward No.5.

Her election was declared null and void.

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 3 of 32

5. The petitioner being aggrieved by her disqualification

challenged the same by filing a revision application before the High

Court under Section 26 (2) of the Act of 1961. One of the contentions

raised on behalf of the petitioner was that the order of conviction

had been set aside on 30.12.2022 and hence the same could not

be the basis for unseating her. It was also urged that the first

respondent had failed to prove that the election of the petitioner had

been materially affected on account of non-compliance of the

provisions of Rule 24-A of the Rules of 1994. The learned Judge of

the High Court held that the petitioner had failed to disclose the fact

of her conviction in her affidavit filed along with the nomination form.

This resulted in breach of Rules 24-A of the Rules of 1994.

Consequently, the provisions of Section 22(1) (d) (iii) of the Act of

1961 were attracted and the same was the ground for declaring the

election of the petitioner to be void. While arriving at this finding, it

was observed that the petitioner did not enter into the witness box

to establish that by failing to disclose her conviction, her election

was not materially affected nor did it influence the election. The

judgment of the trial Court was thus upheld by recording a finding

that by failing to disclose her conviction in the affidavit filed along

with nomination form, there was a breach of Rule 24-A of the Rules

of 1994 and the petitioner’s election was rightly set aside. The

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 4 of 32 revision application was thus dismissed. Being aggrieved, the

petitioner has approached this Court under Article 136 of the

Constitution of India

6. Mr. Vivek Tankha, learned Senior Advocate for the petitioner

made the following submissions:

a. The election of the petitioner was wrongly declared as null

and void. Assuming that there was a failure on the part of

the petitioner to disclose her conviction under Section 138

of the Act of 1881, it could not be said that such non-

disclosure was of a substantial nature that would affect the

outcome of the election for it to be set aside. The conviction

was for an offence not involving moral turpitude and

therefore such non-disclosure was not of a material nature.

The offence being compoundable in nature and the

conviction of the petitioner having been subsequently set

aside, no material difference could be stated to have been

made on account of non-disclosure of such conviction in

the affidavit. To substantiate this contention the learned

Senior Advocate placed reliance on the decisions in Ravi

Namboothiri vs. K.A. Baiju & others1 and Karikho Kri

1 2022 INSC 1187

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 5 of 32 vs. Nuney Tayang and another2. It was thus urged that

the election of the petitioner having been wrongly set aside,

she was liable to be restored to her elected post.

b. The first respondent (election petitioner) had failed to prove

that the election of the petitioner as a returned candidate

had been materially affected on account of non-disclosure

of her conviction in the affidavit filed along with the

nomination form. Hence, her election could not have been

set aside under Section 22 (1) (d) (i) or (iii) of the Act of

1961. There were no pleadings in the election petition that

by the improper acceptance of the petitioner’s nomination

form or on account of non-compliance of the provisions of

Rule 24-A of the Rules of 1994, the election of the petitioner

had been materially affected. This material aspect was not

taken into consideration while unseating the petitioner.

7. On the other hand, Mr. Sarvam Ritam Khare, learned

Advocate appearing for the first respondent opposed the appeal by

urging as under:

a. The fact that the petitioner had been convicted for the

offence punishable under Section 138 of the Act of 1881

2 2024 INSC 289

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 6 of 32 not having been disclosed in the affidavit required to be

filed under Rule 24-A of the Rules of 1994, it was clear that

the nomination form of the petitioner was wrongly accepted

in breach of Section 22 (1) (d) (i) of the Act of 1961. There

had also been non-compliance with the requirements of

the Act of 1961 and the Rules of 1994 thereby affecting the

petitioner’s nomination. On this count, the election of the

petitioner had been rightly set aside. In support of this

submission the learned Advocate placed reliance on the

decisions in Resurgence India Vs. Election Commission

of India and another3 and Krishnamoorthy Vs.

Shivakumar and others.4

b. Since the petitioner was convicted on 07.08.2018 and the

said conviction continued to operate when the nomination

form was filed, the subsequent acquittal of the petitioner on

30.12.2022 after the elections were held was of no

consequence. The eligibility of a candidate was required to

be determined as on the date of submission of the

nomination form. Both the Courts had rightly found that the

3 2013 INSC 617 4 2015 INSC 960

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 7 of 32 conviction of the petitioner was operating when she had

submitted the nomination form.

c. After the election of the petitioner was set aside, fresh

elections were held to fill in the vacancy as caused. The

petitioner had again contested the said election but was

unsuccessful. Since the petitioner had lost the subsequent

election, the challenge raised by her to the order passed

by the trial Court had now been rendered infructuous.

On these grounds, it was urged that there was no

case made out to interfere with the impugned adjudication.

8. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length

and with their assistance we have also perused the documentary

material on record. Before considering the challenge raised by the

petitioner, it would be necessary to first deal with the submission of

the first respondent that by virtue of the subsequent election to fill in

the vacancy caused by the disqualification of the petitioner, her

challenge as raised had been rendered infructuous. In this regard,

it is necessary to note that after the present proceedings were filed,

a bye election was notified and the polling was scheduled on

07.07.2025. This Court on 25.06.2025 directed that though the bye

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 8 of 32 election could be held, the result thereof would be subject to

outcome of the present proceedings.

It is thus clear from the aforesaid that the holding of the

subsequent election for filling in the vacancy caused by the

unseating of the petitioner was made subject to outcome of these

proceedings. It therefore cannot be gainsaid that with the conduct

of the bye elections, the challenge raised by the petitioner to the

order passed by the trial Court had become infructuous.

Notwithstanding the conduct of the bye elections, the present

challenge would be required to be adjudicated on merits since the

rights of the petitioner stand protected by virtue of the interim order

dated 25.06.2025. The said contention raised by the first respondent

therefore cannot be accepted.

9. Coming to the challenge raised by the petitioner, it is to be

noted from the pleadings of the first respondent in the election

petition that the petitioner had failed to disclose the fact that on

07.08.2018 she had been convicted under Section 138 of the Act of

1881. This material fact was required to disclosed by her in the

affidavit mandated to be filed under Rule 24-A of the Rules of 1994

along with her nomination form. To appreciate this contention, it

would be first necessary to refer to the relevant statutory provisions.

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 9 of 32 Section 22 (1) (d) of the Act of 1961, insofar as it is material fact for

the present purpose reads as under:

“22. Grounds for declaring election or nomination to be void- (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), if the Judge is of the opinion - …………

(d) that the result of the election, or nomination in so far as it concerns a returned candidate has been materially affected –

(i) by the improper acceptance of any nomination; or

(ii) by the improper acceptance or refusal of any vote or reception of any vote which is void; or

(iii) by the non-compliance with the provisions of this Act or of any rules or orders-made there under save the rules framed under Section 14 in so far as they relate to preparation and revision of list of voters;

he shall declare the election or nomination of the returned candidate to be void.”

The aforesaid statutory provisions indicate that the election of

returned candidate can be declared to be void on account of

improper acceptance of his/her nomination form or on account of

non-compliance with the provisions of the Act of 1961 or the Rules

of 1994 or orders made thereunder.

10. Rule 24-A of the Rules of 1994 requires each candidate to

furnish information with regard to declaration of criminal

antecedents, assets, liabilities and educational qualifications. The

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 10 of 32 said provision insofar as it is relevant for the present purpose reads

as under:

“24-A. (1) Each candidate shall furnish the information relating to -Declaration of criminal antecedent, assets, liabilities and educational qualification-

(i) any pending criminal case in which he is charged and any disposed criminal case in which he has been convicted;”

Rule 24-A (2), (4) and (5) of the Rules of 1994 being relevant are

reproduced hereunder:

“(2) The nomination paper shall be rejected, if the affidavit is not enclosed.”

“(4) The Returning Officer shall, as soon as may be after furnishing of the information to him under sub-rule (1), display the aforesaid information by affixing a copy of the affidavit, at a conspicuous place at his office for the information of electors of the concerned ward for which the nomination paper is filed and, shall on demand from any other candidate/elector of the ward, make available the information received of the candidate and, shall also publicize the information received through the media.”

“(5) If any candidate or elector files an affidavit against the information contained in the affidavit filed by a candidate under sub-rule (1), it shall also be displayed in the manner prescribed in sub-rule (4).”

11. As required by Rule 24-A(5) of the Rules of 1994, the petitioner

filed her affidavit in the prescribed format. The relevant portion of the

said affidavit dated 09.09.2022 reads as under:

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 11 of 32

AFFIDAVIT

As per Rule 24-A(1)(5)(Amended) of the M.P. Nagarpalika Nirvachan Niyam, 1994

For election to Parshad Ward No.5 from Nagar Parishad, Bhikangaon (6) I have been/have not been convicted of an offence(s) [other than any offence(s) referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), or cover in sub-section(3), of section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951)] and sentenced to imprisonment for one year or more.

If the deponent is convicted and punished as aforesaid, he shall furnish the following information: In the following cases, I have been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment by a court of law:

A The details of cases, Section (s) of the Nirank concerned Act(s) and description of the offence(s) for Name of the Court(s), Case No. and Nirank B date(s) of order(s):

Punishment imposed Nirank C Whether any appeal was/has been filed Nirank D

against the conviction order. If so, details and the present status of the appeal:

VERIFICATION I, the deponent, above named, do hereby verify and declare that the contents of this affidavit are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and no part of it is false and nothing material has been concealed there from. I further declare that:

(a) There is no case of conviction or pending case against me other than those mentioned in items 5 and 6 of part A and B above;

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 12 of 32 (b) I, my spouse, or my dependents do not have any asset or liability, other than those mentioned in items 7 and 8 of Part A and items 8, 9 and 10 of Part B above.

Verified at this day of 09/09/2022 DEPONENT (emphasis supplied by us)

12. Undisputably, the petitioner was convicted on 07.08.2018

under Section 138 of the Act of 1881. The conviction was in force

when the petitioner submitted her nomination form on 09.09.2022.

In the affidavit filed under Rule 24-A of the Rules of 1994, the

petitioner failed to disclose her conviction as stated above. To that

extent, the plea raised by the first respondent and accepted by both

Courts that there was a failure on the part of the petitioner in not

disclosing her conviction in the affidavit filed under Rule 24-A of the

Rules of 1994 which in turn resulted in non-compliance with the

provisions of the Act of 1961 or the Rules of 1994 is correct.

13. On consideration of the statutory provisions as well as the

documentary material on record it becomes clear that under Rule

24-A (1) of the Rules of 1994, every candidate contesting elections

is required to furnish information which includes declaration of

criminal antecedents, etc. The information required to be furnished

is with regard to any pending criminal case in which the candidate

is charged or any criminal case that has been disposed of and has

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 13 of 32 resulted in his conviction. Failure to furnish such affidavit can result

in rejection of the nomination paper. The Returning Officer is

required to display the nomination furnished by each candidate by

affixing a copy of the affidavit at a conspicuous place at his office so

as to provide information to the electors from the concerned ward.

He is also required to publicise the information received through the

media. Similarly, contents of the affidavit required to be filed under

Rule 24-A (1) are also required to be displayed in the aforesaid

manner. The object behind disclosing such information is to enable

the voters to get knowledge about the criminal antecedents, assets,

liabilities and educational qualifications of the candidates contesting

the elections. That such information is required to be furnished in

furtherance of the right to information available to the electorate

under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India is now well-

settled.

14. In this context, it would be necessary to refer to the three

Judge Bench decision in Union of India vs. Association for

Democratic Reforms.5 While considering the question whether a

voter had a right to get relevant information including that with

regard to involvement in an offence, this Court while recognising

5 2002 INSC 253

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 14 of 32 such right to get information in the context of Article 19(1)(a) of the

Constitution of India held as under:

"In our view, democracy cannot survive without free and fair election, without free and fairly informed voters. Votes cast by uninformed voters in favour of X or Y candidate would be meaningless. As stated in the aforesaid passage, one- sided information, disinformation, misinformation and non- information all equally create an uninformed citizenry which makes democracy a farce. Therefore, casting of a vote by misinformed and non-informed voter or a voter having one- sided information only is bound to affect the democracy seriously. Freedom of speech and expression includes right to impart and receive information which includes freedom to hold opinions. Entertainment is implied in freedom of ‘speech and expression’ and there is no reason to hold that freedom of speech and expression would not cover right to get material information with regard to a candidate who is contesting election for a post which is of utmost importance in the democracy."

It thereafter concluded as under:

"Under our Constitution, Article 19(1)(a) provides for freedom of speech and expression. Voters' speech or expression in case of election would include casting of votes, that is to say, voter speaks out or expresses by casting vote. For this purpose, information about the candidate to be selected is must. Voter's (little man citizen's) right to know antecedents including criminal past of his candidate contesting election for MP or MLA is much more fundamental and basic for survival of democracy. The little man may think over before making his choice of electing law breakers as law makers."

15. It is an admitted position that, the petitioner failed to disclose

her conviction for the offence punishable under Section 138 of the

Act of 1881 and that she had been sentenced to imprisonment for a

period of one year. It is also not disputed that on 09.09.2022 when

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 15 of 32 the petitioner submitted her affidavit as required by Rule 24-A (1) of

the Rules of 1994, her conviction was in force. The petitioner was

therefore obligated to furnish information about her conviction and

consequently being sentenced to imprisonment for a period of one

year. She however failed to do so. Pertinently, Rule 24-A (1) requires

a declaration to be made of an order or conviction, irrespective of

the quantum of sentence imposed. In other words, the material

information to be furnished is the fact of any conviction suffered by

a candidate. It is therefore clear that by failing to disclose her

previous conviction, the petitioner furnished false and incorrect

information as regards her criminal antecedents. As a result the

verification of her affidavit was false and incorrect despite the fact

that the petitioner had full knowledge of her conviction which she

had subjected to further challenge. As a consequence, the ground

under Section 22 (1) (d) (iii) of the Act of 1961 became available for

declaring her election to be void. Further, as a result of such false

information being furnished by the petitioner in her affidavit filed

under Rule 24-A (1) of the Rules of 1994, her nomination paper was

improperly accepted.

These factual aspects have been considered by the trial Court

and thereafter affirmed by the High Court in exercise of its revisional

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 16 of 32 jurisdiction. This factual position was not contested by the learned

Senior Advocate for the petitioner. It is thus clear that by failing to

disclose her conviction and consequent sentence of imprisonment

for a period of one year, a ground for declaring her election as

Councillor became available to the first respondent.

16. The learned Senior Advocate for the petitioner tried to

extricate the case of the petitioner from such position by urging that

the conviction of the petitioner was not for an offence involving moral

turpitude. It was a conviction under Section 138 of the Act of 1881

and thus it could not be said that there was any serious or heinous

crime committed by the petitioner. For her conviction in such an

offence, the petitioner was not liable to be visited by an order of

disqualification under the Act of 1961. To substantiate this

contention he sought to derive support from the decisions of this

Court in Ravi Namboothiri and Karikho Kri (supra).

Having considered both these decisions, we find that the same

are clearly distinguishable in view of the statutory provisions

involved therein as well as the relevant factual aspects. In Ravi

Namboothiri (supra), the appellant therein was finally convicted for

the offence punishable under Section 38 read with Section 52 of the

Kerala Police Act, 1961 and was sentenced to a fine of Rs. 200/-.

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 17 of 32 The said appellant however while filing his nomination for the

elections to the Panchayat failed to disclose the fact of his conviction

under Section 38 read with Section 52 of the Kerala Police Act,

1961. On this count his election to the Panchayat was set aside as

he had suppressed information with regard to his past conviction.

The appellant challenged his disqualification before this Court. It

was found that what was required to be disclosed under Section

52(1A) of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 were the details with

regard to criminal cases in which the candidate was involved at the

time of submission of his nomination. Reference was made to the

previous of Section 102 (1)(ca) of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act,

1994 which made furnishing of details by an elected candidate

under Section 52 (1A) a ground for declaring an election to be void

if such details furnished were fake. It was held by this Court that the

word “involvement’’ in a criminal case at the time of filing of the

nomination in Section 52 (1A) would only mean cases where a

criminal complaint was pending investigation/trial, cases where the

conviction and/or sentence was current at the time of filing of the

nomination and cases where the conviction was the subject matter

of any appeal or revision pending at the time of nomination. It was

found that besides Rule 6, Form No. 2-A required details even of

cases where the candidate was convicted earlier. Since the said

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 18 of 32 appellant had failed to disclose details of his earlier conviction in

Form No.2-A, his election was liable to be declared as void under

Section 102 (1)(ca). This Court however found that under provisions

of Section 38 and 52 of the Kerala Police Act, 1961, the conviction

of the said appellant was for disobedience of the directions issued

by a police officer. By observing that such offence could not be

treated to be a substantive offence, it was observed that protest was

a tool in hands of the society and therefore failure on the part of said

petitioner to disclose his conviction for the offence consequent upon

holding a ‘dharna’ in front of the Panchayat Office could not be taken

as a ground for declaring an election to be void. It further observed

that the Kerala Police Act, 1961 was a successor legislation of

certain police enactments of the colonial era, whose object was to

scuttle the democratic aspirations of the indigenous population.

Accordingly, this Court held that the High Court was not correct in

declaring the election of the said petitioner to be void on the ground

that he had failed to disclose to in Form No.2-A of his conviction

which amounted to undue influence on the free exercise of the

electoral right.

17. We may note that in the aforesaid decision, the requirement

was to furnish information with regard to involvement in a criminal

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 19 of 32 case as required by Section 52(1A) of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act,

1994. Further the said appellant on his conviction was merely

sentenced to fine of Rs.200/- for the offence under Section 38 read

with Section 52 of the Kerala Police Act, 1961. There was no

sentence of imprisonment.

In the present case, the petitioner after her conviction was

sentenced to an imprisonment for a period of one year. The affidavit

required to be filed under Rule 24-A (1) of the Rules of 1994

specifically requires furnishing of details as regards any sentence of

imprisonment for a period of one year or more. The statutory

requirement in the present case is thus distinct from the

requirements in Ravi Namboothiri (supra) which makes the said

decision distinguishable.

18. In Karikho Kri (supra), the successful candidate in the

assembly elections was found to have not disclosed in his affidavit

details with regard to ownership of vehicles, failure to submit no

dues certificate with regard to electricity charges and municipal

dues. His election was declared to be void under Section 100

(1)(d)(i) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. While

considering the challenge to the judgment of the High Court, this

Court found that the vehicles in question had either been gifted or

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 20 of 32 sold by the appellant prior to filing of his nomination and hence the

said vehicles could not be considered to be owned by his family

members. It was further found that the said appellant had disclosed

the value of his assets which included the value of the vehicles in

question. It was then found that what was not disclosed by the

appellant was not of a substantial nature so as to impact his

candidature or the result of the election. In fact, a finding was

recorded that there were no actual outstanding dues payable by the

appellant and hence there was no defect whatsoever so as to render

the acceptance of his nomination form to be improper. Additionally,

it was found that though the election of the appellant had been

invalidated under Section 100(1)(d)(iv) of the Representation of the

People Act, 1951, it had not been shown as to how the result of the

election had been materially affected by the acceptance of his

nomination form. On these counts, the judgment of the High Court

was set aside and the election of the said appellant was found to be

valid.

The aforesaid facts are sufficient to distinguish the said

decision in the wake of the undisputed facts of the present case. The

petitioner herein having been convicted and sentenced to

imprisonment for a period of one year which fact was not disclosed

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 21 of 32 in the affidavit filed along with the nomination form is sufficient to

hold that the ratio of the aforesaid decision cannot be applied to the

present case.

19. It is now necessary to deal with the contention raised on behalf

of the petitioner that notwithstanding her conviction, the same was

not for committing a serious offence or one touching upon moral

turpitude. The conviction being under Section 138 of the Act of 1881,

the petitioner was not liable to be unseated for her conviction for a

minor offence.

We are unable to accept this contention which seeks to dilute

the fact of non-disclosure of the petitioner’s conviction in the

nomination form. Rule 24A-(1) requires a candidate to disclose any

order of conviction suffered by him by filing an affidavit along with

the relevant information before the Returning Officer. The format of

the affidavit prescribed under the Rules of 1994 requires a

disclosure as regards conviction and sentence of imprisonment for

a duration of one year and more. The validity of Rule 24-A(1) of the

Rules of 1994 has not been subjected to any challenge. It would

therefore have to be treated as valid. Its compliance has been made

mandatory as failure to furnish such information along with an

affidavit as prescribed visits a candidate with the consequence of

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 22 of 32 non-compliance of the provisions of the Rules of 1994. This in turn

is a ground to challenge the election of the returned candidate. In

absence of any provision in the Rules of 1994 that would enable the

Court to condone such non-compliance or exempt its compliance on

the ground that the conviction was for a non-serious offence or one

not involving moral turpitude, adopting such course as urged would

do violence to the Act of 1961 and the Rules of 1994.

20. At this stage, we may refer to the decision of this Court in

Krishnamoorthy (supra) wherein this Court considered the effect

of non-disclosure of criminal cases in respect of serious offences

including those involving moral turpitude. After noting that the right

to contest an election was neither a fundamental right nor a common

law right, it was observed as under:

“The controversy which has emanated in this case is whether non-furnishing of the information while filing an affidavit pertaining to criminal cases, especially cases involving heinous or serious crimes or relating to corruption or moral turpitude would tantamount to corrupt practice, regard being had to the concept of undue influence”. It was thereafter concluded in paragraph 86 as under:

“In view of the above, we would like to sum up our conclusions:

(a) Disclosure of criminal antecedents of a candidate, especially, pertaining to heinous or serious offence or offences relating to corruption or moral turpitude at the time of filing of nomination

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 23 of 32 paper as mandated by law is a categorical imperative.

(b) When there is non-disclosure of the offences pertaining to the areas mentioned in the preceding clause, it creates an impediment in the free exercise of electoral right.

(c) Concealment or suppression of this nature deprives the voters to make an informed and advised choice as a consequence of which it would come within the compartment of direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere with the free exercise of the right to vote by the electorate, on the part of the candidate.

(d) As the candidate has the special knowledge of the pending cases where cognizance has been taken or charges have been framed and there is a non-

disclosure on his part, it would amount to undue influence and, therefore, the election is to be declared null and void by the Election Tribunal under Section 100(1)(b) of the 1951 Act.

(e) The question whether it materially affects the election or not will not arise in a case of this nature.”

This Court was concerned with the suppression of various

cases of embezzlement by the concerned candidate in his

nomination form. The reference to heinous or serious offences or

offences relating to corruption or moral turpitude would have to be

seen in that factual backdrop. This Court was not dealing with an

offence that was not heinous or not involving moral turpitude. It is

therefore not the ratio of Krishnamoorthy (supra) that disclosure

only of serious and heinous offences is mandated and that failure to

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 24 of 32 disclose conviction for a minor or non-serious offence could be

condoned, as a principle.

We may however clarify that ultimately it is a matter of

exercise of judicial discretion in the given facts of the case, as was

exercised in Ravi Namboothiri (supra), as to whether such non-

disclosure is fatal or not. Hence, the decision in Krishnamoorthy

(supra) cannot be the basis to hold that non-disclosure of conviction

in case of a minor offence was always intended to be condoned and

not viewed seriously.

21. The plea raised by the petitioner that her election could not be

set aside in the absence of it being proved that the result of the

election had been materially affected on account of the improper

acceptance of her nomination form need not detain us. Once it is

found that there has been non-disclosure of a previous conviction

by a candidate, it creates an impediment in the free exercise of

electoral right by a voter. A voter is thus deprived of making an

informed and advised choice. It would be a case of

suppression/non-disclosure by such candidate, which renders the

election void.

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 25 of 32

22. In this regard, we may refer to the decision in Kisan Shankar

Kathore vs. Arun Dattatray Sawant & Others6. Therein the

election of the returned candidate to the Legislative Assembly was

challenged by a voter from the constituency on the ground that the

nomination form of the returned candidate had been improperly

accepted by the Returning Officer and that the election was void due

to non-compliance of the provisions of the Representation of the

People Act, 1951. There were in all five candidates in the fray. In the

election petition, the High Court held that the returned candidate

failed to make material disclosures in the affidavit filed along with

the nomination form and hence the nomination form was improperly

accepted by the Returning Officer. It further held that the result of

the election was materially affected due to non-disclosure of

relevant information. Accordingly, the election of the returned

candidate was set aside. While considering the challenge to the said

judgment, this Court noted that the aspect of non-disclosure of

material information was an admitted fact. Referring to the decisions

in Association for Democratic Reforms (supra) and People’s

Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Vs. Union of India and another7,

it was held that if the required information as per the guidelines of

6 2014 INSC 384 7 2023 INSC 176

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 26 of 32 the Election Commission was not given, the same would amount to

suppression/non-disclosure of relevant information. On the aspect

of the result of the election being materially affected due to non-

disclosure of such information, it was observed in paragraph 28 as

under:-

“Issue No. 8 pertains to the question as to whether the election result was materially affected because of non- disclosure of the aforesaid information. The High Court took note of provisions of Section 100 (1)(d)(i) and (iv) and discussed the same. Thereafter, some judgments cited by the appellant were distinguished and deciding this issue against the appellant, the High Court concluded as under:

“137. In my opinion, it is not necessary to elaborate on this matter beyond a point, except to observe that when it is a case of improper acceptance of nomination on account of invalid affidavit or no affidavit filed therewith, which affidavit is necessarily an integral part of the nomination form; and when that challenge concerns the returned candidate and if upheld, it is not necessary for the Petitioner to further plead or prove that the result of the returned candidate has been materially affected by such improper acceptance.

138. The avowed purpose of filing the affidavit is to make truthful disclosure of all the relevant matters regarding assets (movable and immovable) and liabilities as well as criminal actions (registered, pending or in respect of which cognizance has been taken by the Court of competent jurisdiction or in relation to conviction in respect of specified offences). Those are matters which are fundamental to the accomplishment of free and fair election. It is the fundamental right of the voters to be informed about all matters in relation to such details for

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 27 of 32 electing candidate of their choice. Filing of complete information and to make truthful disclosure in respect of such matters is the duty of the candidate who offers himself or who is nominated for election to represent the voters from that Constituency. As the candidate has to disclose this information on affidavit, the solemnity of affidavit cannot be allowed to be ridiculed by the candidates by offering incomplete information or suppressing material information, resulting in disinformation and misinformation to the voters. The sanctity of disclosure to be made by the candidate flows from the constitutional obligation.” Affirming the said finding, it was held in paragraph 38 as under:-

“…Once it is found that it was a case of improper acceptance, as there was misinformation or suppression of material information, one can state that question of rejection in such a case was only deferred to a later date. When the Court gives such a finding, which would have resulted in rejection, the effect would be same, namely, such a candidate was not entitled to contest and the election is void…”

23. In Sri Mairembam Prithviraj @ Prithviraj Singh Vs. Shri

Pukhrem Sharatchandra Singh8, two candidates were in the

election fray. The returned candidate failed to submit any documents

as regards his educational qualification alongwith the nomination

form. The acceptance of his nomination form was accordingly

challenged. The High Court held that the declaration made by the

returned candidate as regards his educational qualification was

false. The said finding was upheld by this Court. On the question as

8 2016 INSC 1000

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 28 of 32 to whether the election of the returned candidate was materially

affected due to such improper acceptance of the nomination form,

reference was made to the decision in Kisan Shankar Kathore

(supra). It was thereafter held in paragraph 23 as under:-

“23. Mere finding that there has been an improper acceptance of the nomination is not sufficient for a declaration that the election is void under Section 100 (1)

(d). There has to be further pleading and proof that the result of the election of the returned candidate was materially affected. But, there would be no necessity of any proof in the event of the nomination of a returned candidate being declared as having been improperly accepted, especially in a case where there are only two candidates in the fray. If the returned candidate’s nomination is declared to have been improperly accepted it would mean that he could not have contested the election and that the result of the election of the returned candidate was materially affected need not be proved further. We do not find substance in the submission of Mr. Giri that the judgment in Durai Muthuswami (supra) is not applicable to the facts of this case.” Though in the aforesaid case there were only two candidates

who contested the elections, the principle that failure to disclose

relevant information in the affidavit filed along with the nomination

form amounted to non-disclosure of material information was

accepted. That such wrongful acceptance of the nomination form of

the returned candidate would result in the election being materially

affected rendering it void was recognised as a consequence.

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 29 of 32 24. Even otherwise, it is clear from the decision in

Krishnamoorthy (supra) that non-furnishing information pertaining

to criminal antecedents has the effect of causing undue influence

which creates an impediment in the free exercise of electoral right

by a voter. When there is such non-disclosure of criminal

antecedents, this Court held in paragraph 86(e) that the question

whether the election is materially affected or not would not arise in

such a case.

It is thus clear that by failing to disclose her conviction under

Section 138 of the Act of 1881, the petitioner suppressed material

information and thus failed to comply with the mandatory

requirements of Rule 24-A(1) of the Rules of 1994. The acceptance

of her nomination form has therefore been rightly held to be

improper. She being the returned candidate, her election was

rendered void. It is thus obvious that on account of such wrongful

acceptance of her nomination form, the election was materially

affected. This contention of the petitioner also fails.

25. We may now indicate why discretion under Article 136 of the

Constitution of India does not deserve to be exercised in the present

case. The Constitution Bench in Pritam Singh vs. State9 while

9 1950 INSC 9

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 30 of 32 explaining the scope and powers of the Court under Article 136 has

held that:

“Generally speaking, this Court will not grant special leave, unless it is shown that exceptional and special circumstances exist, that substantial and grave injustice has been done and that the case in question presents features of sufficient gravity to warrant a review of the decision appealed against.”

Having considered the entire matter, we are not persuaded to

hold that the petitioner has made out an exceptional case for this

Court to hold that notwithstanding the failure on the part of the

petitioner to disclose her conviction leading to the sentence of

imprisonment of one year, such lapse should be condoned. The

information furnished in her affidavit filed under Rule 24-A(1) of the

Rules of 1994 has been found to be incorrect and false. The

petitioner rests on her subsequent acquittal in appeal, which event

occurred after her election. She did not step into the witness box to

explain her inadvertence, which is now sought to be put forward.

The plain reading of Rule 24-A(1) and its requirement does not

admit of any doubt whatsoever. Moreover, both the Courts have

concurrently found that the petitioner failed to disclose her

conviction without any justifiable reason. In these facts therefore, no

special or exceptional case has been made out by the petitioner for

this Court to exercise jurisdiction under Article 136 of the

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 31 of 32 Constitution of India. In the passing, we may observe that the

petitioner had contested the bye election that had occasioned by her

removal and she lost the same.

26. For all the above reasons, the Special Leave Petition stands

dismissed.

…………………………………………..J. [PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA]

…..………………………..J. [ATUL S. CHANDURKAR]

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 06, 2025.

SLP (C) No.12000 of 2025 Page 32 of 32