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Bar & Bench (www.barandbench.com) 14 dated 19.03.2019, fixing the date of the polling in the State of Tamil Nadu on 18.04.2019. Additionally, in pursuance of Section 30 of the Act, it also fixed the schedule for the conduct of the elections to the Parliamentary Constituencies as follows: A. 26.03.2019- Last date for making nominations. B. 27.03.2019- Date for scrutiny of nominations. C. 29.03.2019- Last date for withdrawal of candidatures. D. 27.05.2019- Date before which election shall be completed in all the parliamentary constituencies. The petitioner submitted his nomination on time, along with all the relevant particulars, as required by the Election Commission. After filing his nomination, he started campaigning, without violating the Model Code of Conduct. While campaigning, various media reports were released, stating that undeclared monies had allegedly been seized at the residence of the Secretary of a major political party, and at the residences of his alleged accomplices. In fact, the reports also mentioned that after the initial operation was completed, a subsequent amount totaling over Rs.11 crore was seized. 9. According to the petitioner, if the allegations are proved to be true, then the immediate consequence would be that the candidate http://www.judis.nic.in

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Shanmugam v. India

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the Election Commission of India may cancel or postpone elections based on the conduct and criminal actions of candidate.

Alleged Acts: Shanmugam, the petitioner in this case, was seeking Parliamentary candidacy came across new reports regarding raids conducted by the Election Commission and the Income Tax Department of the candidates home. The raid were allegedly conducted by a rival political parties and uncovered large amounts of money that was intended to be used for illegally influencing voters. The candidate was also accused of violating Model Code of Conduct for engaging in corrupt practices. The Union of Indian subsequently rescinded the notification of candidacy.

Procedural history: The petitioner brings this case to review the decision of the Election Commission to cancel the election.

Summary: The Election Commission submitted reports indicating that there was an allurement of elector by the political party, candidate, and their accomplices. The court review precedent and determined that bribery constituted an act of corruption under the electoral code. Under art. 324 of the India Constitution, the court determined that the Chief Election Commissioner was able to postpone or cancel the election after taking into account the opinion of experts. Accordingly, when the decision of the Chief Election Commissioner is founded in the opinion of experts, the Court may not substitute its own opinion. There was evidence of malpractice in the electoral system at this juncture and it was necessary to cancel the election in order to maintain its purity. It is not sufficient to prove that the conduct was limited to a single candidate.

Conclusion: The commission was justified in canceling the election.

Legal Issue(s)

Civil Procedure
Electoral Integrity

Applicable Law(s): India Const. art 324.

Region: Asia-Pacific

Country: India

Language of Decision

English

Court: Supreme Court

Election Type: Parliamentary

Date of decision: Apr 17, 2019

Geolocation

Latitude: 28.78511017

Longitude: 77.33957631

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

AC-Shanmugam-and-anr-v-UOI-and-ors-Madras-HC-Vellore-Polls-2019.pdf
English
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Election Judgments - IFES

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Shanmugam v. India

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