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Bar & Bench (www.barandbench.com) 3 the respondents to proceed with the conduct of the Parliamentary/Lok Sabha elections for the Vellore Parliamentary Constituency as scheduled on 18.04.2019. 2. Prayer in W.P.No.11978 of 2019, filed by an independent candidate, Mr.K.Sugumar, is also for the same relief. 3. As both the writ petitions are filed for the same relief, prayer with averments and submissions in common, they are taken up together and disposed of by a common order. Facts in W.P.No.11977 of 2019 are as follows: 4. It is the case of Mr.A.C.Shanmugam, petitioner, that he is a candidate contesting in the 17th Lok Sabha Elections from the Vellore Parliamentary Constituency in Tamil Nadu, representing the AIADMK party. The polling for the said election is to be held on 18.04.2019. While so, the Petitioner came across news reports published by several leading media houses regarding raids conducted by the Election Commission officials along with officials from the Income Tax Department in premises allegedly belonging to or associated with a 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 The Union of Indian subsequently rescinded the notification of candidacy.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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