the President of India with effect from 14-1-1971, by means of a notification published on 6-2-1971. Consequently, the learned Judge set aside the election of the original respondent after holding that she was guilty of a “corrupt practice”, as defined by Section 123 (7) of the Act, on each of two grounds : firstly, that she must be deemed to have obtained the help of Shri Yashpal Kapur in the furtherance of her election, before he had ceased to be a Gazetted Officer in Government service, and after the original respondent had first held herself out, on 29-12-1970, as a candidate at the forthcoming election from the Rae Bareli constituency by answereing in the negative a question put to her at a Press Conference in New Delhi inquiring whether she had decided to change her constituency from Rae Bareily in U.P. to Gurgaon in Haryana; and, secondly, that she must be deemed to have obtained the help of officials of the State of U.P. who got rostrums constructed for her election speeches and electricity provided and arrangements made for loudspeakers. The leaned Judge declared here to be disqualified under Section 8-A of the Act from holding her office for a period of six years from the date of his order dated 12-6-1975. I deliberately employ the word "deemed" to describe the nature of the findings of the trial Judge on both these questions because the learned Judge had himself indicated that they were inferences based entirely on circumstantial and not on any direct evidence whatsoever of any instructions issued either by the original respondent or by her election agent during the period following 29-12-1970. Election Appeal No. 887 of 1975 was filed against decisions on these two questions and consequential orders of the learned trial Judge. 403. The law as found in the Act of 1951 did not unlike the English Act of 1949 make a distinction between corrupt practices and illegal practices. Section 123 (7) as it has stood unamended enumerates, as the last of the 7 classes of corrupt practice as follows: "S. 123 (7) The obtaining or procuring or abetting or attempting to obtain or procure by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent any assistance other than the giving of vote for the furtherance of the prospects of that candidate's election from any person in the service of the government and belonging to any of the following classes namely: – (a) gazetted officers; (b) Stipendiary judges and magistrate; (c) members of the armed forces of the Union; (d) members of the police forces; (e) excise officers; (f) & (g) xx xx xx Explanation – (1) In this section the expression 'agent' includes an election agent a polling agent and any person who is held to have acted as an agent in connection with the election with the consent of the candidate.