SUPREME COURT OF INDIA*
Civil Appeals Nos. 887 and 909 of 1975$
(Decision dated 7-11-1975)
In C.A. No. 887 of 1975
Smt. Indira Nehru Gandhi
..Appellant
Vs.
Shri Raj Narain
..Respondent
In C.A. No. 909 of 1975
Shri Raj Narain
..Appellant
Vs.
Smt. Indira Nehru Gandhi
..Respondent
SUMMARY OF THE CASE
Smt.Indira Nehru Gandhi was elected to the House of the People from Rae
Bareli Parliamentary Constituency in March, 1971. Her election was challenged by
one of the rival candidates Shri Raj Narain, before the Allahabad High Court by an
election petition. The High Court, by its judgment and order dated 12.6.1975,
allowed the election petition and declared the election of Smt. Indira Nehru Gandhi
as void. The High Court held that Smt. Gandhi had procured assistance of Shri
Yashpal Kapoor, a Gazetted Officer of the Government of India, the District
Magistrate and Superintendent of Police, Rae Bareli, the Executive Engineer, PWD,
and the Engineer, Hydel Department, for her election campaign and had thus
committed corrupt practices under Section 123 (7) of the Representation of the
People Act, 1951.
Aggrieved by the order of the Allahabad High Court, Smt. Indira Nehru
Gandhi filed the present appeal before the Supreme Court. A cross-appeal was also
filed by Shri Raj Narain. During the pendency of these appeals, Parliament passed
the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 1975. By this Amendment Act, several
provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 were amended
retrospectively. Further, Parliament also passed the Constitution (Thirty-ninth
Amendment) Act, 1975. By this Amendment Act, a new Article 329-A was inserted
into the Constitution to provide, inter alia, that the election to Parliament of a
person, who holds office of Prime Minister or Speaker of the Lok Sabha at the time
of such election or is appointed as Prime Minister or Speaker after such election,
shall be called in question only before a specially prescribed authority [and not
before the High Court under Article 329 (b) of the Constitution]. Furthermore, by
the said Amendment Act, Parliament also validated the election of Smt. Indira
Nehru Gandhi.
The validity of the above mentioned two Amending Acts also became subject
matter of the present appeals. One of the grounds of attack on the validity of these
Acts was that many members of Parliament were subjected to preventive detention