Holding

The charge of corrupt practice under Section 123(3) was not established due to lack of evidence linking the appellant or his agents to the offending poster, and the election petition was dismissed.

Summary

The election of Mullapudi Venkata Krishna Rao to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly was challenged on the ground that he had used a poster depicting N.T. Rama Rao as Lord Krishna, together with a sloka from the Bhagavad Gita and a derogatory reference to the Congress party, thereby violating Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The High Court held that the poster was a religious symbol used to prejudice the rival party and declared the election void. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether the appellant or his election agent had printed, displayed, or consented to the offending poster. While accepting that the poster was indeed a religious symbol, the Court found no evidence that the appellant or his agents were responsible for its production or placement, and the witnesses did not identify the locations or confirm consent. The Court reiterated that election petitions require a rigorous standard of proof akin to criminal proceedings. Consequently, the charge under Section 123(3) was not established and the appeal was allowed, setting aside the voiding of the election.

Issues considered

Whether the use of a religious symbol in election material constitutes a corrupt practice under Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Whether the appellant or his election agent printed, displayed, or gave consent to the offending poster.
What standard of proof applies in election petitions for allegations of corrupt practice.

Legislation cited

Representation of the People Act, 1951s. 123(3)

Subjects

election petitioncorrupt practicereligious symbolSection 123(3)standard of proofpolitical campaigningAndhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly

Judgment

A MULLAPUDI VENKATA KRISHNA RAO
v.
~--
VEDULASURYANARAYANA

MARCH 16, 1993

B [KULDIP SINGH, N.M. KASLIWAL AND S.P. BHARUCHA, JJ.] ).. .
. '

Representation of the People Ac~ 1951:

Section 123(3}-Corrupt practice-Religious symboHJse of-Charge
C against elected canaidote-Establishing of-Standard of proof required in
such cases.

The appellant's election to the Legislative Assembly was challenged
by the Respondent in his election petition before the High Court. It was
contended by the election petitioner that the respondent had used a
D religious symbol for the furtherance of his election prospects,·which was a
corrupt practice under Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People
Act, 1951. The High Court declared the election of the sue<essful can·
didate to be void and set it aside. The successful candidate preferred the
present appeal.
E
On the question whether the use of a religious symbol in the election
of Respondent amounted to corrupt practice u/s 123(3) of the Repre·
sentation of the People Act, 1951, this court,

HELD: 1.1. There is no doubt that the offending poster is a religious
F symbol. The depiction of anyone in the attire of Lord Krishna blowing a
'shanku' and quoting the words from the Bhagavad Gita addressed by t
Lord Krishna to Arjuna that his incarnation would be born upon the
earth in age after age to restore dharma is not only to a Hindu by religion
but to every Indian symbolic of the Hindu religion. The use by a candidate
G of ouch a symbol coupled with the printing upon it of words derogatory of
a rival political party must lead to the conclusion that the religious symbol
I
was used with a view to prejudicially affect the election of the candidate of
the rival political party. [350G-H]

1.2. But there is no evidence to show that the offending poster was
H printed by or at the behest of the successful candidate. The successful
346
MULLAPUDI VENKATA v. VEDULA SURYANARAYANA !JlHARUCHA, J.] 347

candidate himself in his evidence denied that he had the offending posters A
printed or pasted. The averment in the election petition that the offending
posters were pasted by followers, supporters and party men of the success-
ful candidate is not established. [351B-D]

.. 1.3. The evidence on record does not establish that the offending
posters were used at the election by the successful candidate or his B
election agent or with their consent. [352D]
'
1.4. The standard of proof in an election petition is rigorous, having
regard to the quasi-criminal nature of the proceeding. The charge laid
against the successful candidate under section 123(3) has not been estab- C
fished on the basis of the evidence on record. [35IG]

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 3719 of
-~ 1991..

From the Judgment and Order dated 3.9.1991 of the Andhra Pradesh D
High Court in Election Petition No. 22 of 1990.

P.P. Rao, D. Prakash Reddy and A.V.V. Nair for the Appellant.

C. Sitaramaiah, B. Rajeshwar Rao, Vimal Dave, Mrs. Rani Chhabra
(NP) for the Respondent. E
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

BHARUCHA, J. This is an appeal under the provisions of the Rep·
resentation of the People Act, 1951, against the judgment and order of the
High Court of Ancjhra Pradesh whereby the election of the appellant F
before us to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Tanuku
Assembly constituency was declared void and set aside in view of the
finding that he had committed the corrupt practice proscribed by section
123(3) of the Act.
G
Section 123(3); inter alia, states that

"the appeal by a candidate or his agent or by any other
person with the consent of a candidate or his election
agent .to vote or refrain from voting for any person on the
grountl of his ~eligion .......... or the use of or. appeal to H
348 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A religious symbols for the furtherance of the prospects of
the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting "'<('-
the election of any other candidate is a corrupt practice".

The respondent, a candidate of the Telugu Desam Party, secured the
largest number qf votes at the said election, which was held on 22nd
B November, 1989. The High Court found that during the election campaign
posters depicting N.T. Rama Rao, the leader of the Telugu Desam Party, ~ -,
in the role of Lord Krishna, blowing a conch shell, had been used. The
offending poster bore at the top a 'sloka' from the Bhagavad Gita, which
said, roughly translated, that the Lord would be born upon this earth in
c age after age to establish dharma or righteouness. At its bottom the
offending poster stated that the deceitful Congress, which had sold out the
country, should be defeated. It was the contention of the election petitioner
before the High Court, who was a voter in the Constituency, that the
offending posters had been exhibited by or at the behest of the successful -f -
candidate. It was held by the High Court that it had no doubt that the
D offending poster was a religious symbol, its implication being that N.T. '
Rama Rao, who was an incarnation of Lord Krishna, exhorted voters to
defeat the deceitful Congress. The High Court went on to consider whether
the offending posters had been affixed by the successful candidate or his
election agent or by any person with the consent of the successful candidate
E or his election agent. It came to the conclusion that it was clear from the
evidence "that the respondent or his agent or other persons with his -1
consent have used religious symbol for the furtherance of the prospects of .
the respondent or for prejudicially affecting the election of the Congress I

F
candidate". Accordingly, the corrupt practice under section 123(3) was
found to have been established. The High Court did not accept the case
of the election petitioner in regard to the other corrupt practices that had -
~---.

G
been alleged. Upon the basis of the finding in regard to the corrupt
practice under section 123(3), the High Court allowed the election petition,
declared the election of the successful .candidate to be void and set it aside.

As aforestated, the successful candidate is in appeal.
- t

The election petition alleged that the "respondent herein ....... and,
with his consent and connivance, his followers, supporters and his party ~-·
men and election agent had resorted to large scale display of wall posters
H and paintings on the walls of the picture of Lord Krishna". The offending

•
MULLAPUDI VENKATA v. VEDULA SURYANARAYANA [BHARUCHA, J.] 349

p~ters, which were described, had been pasted on walls. at important A
places in all villages and towns throughotit the Constituency and also on
the sides of vans and vehicles used for canvassing. The election petition
stated that particulars of some of the instances where, inter alia, the
offending posters were exhibited were given in Schedule A thereto.
Schedule A gave various addresses whereat the offending posters had been
B
pasted. Photographs would, it was stated, be produced in support of t.he
allegation and four witnesses, would depose thereto, namely, Penicherla
Rama Krishna Raju, Dukka Suri Appa Rao, Allabani Venka!llla, Venni
Subba Rao. The schedule also referred to "oil painting and posters" on the
publicity vans at three locations, which would be established by
photographs and by leading the evidence of Ballina Satyanarayana and c
Kudapa Akkanna.

In his written statement the successful candidate denied the allega-
tions afore-stated.

D
The election petitioner filed documents along with the election peti-
tion, which included the affidavits of the four first named persons. The
affidavit of Dukkasuri Appa Rao is representative of the three affidavits of
those who are alleged to have pasted the offending posters. The fourth
affidavit is of the photographer. The affidavit of Dukkasuri Appa Rao
• stated that the successful candidate had assigned to him the work of pasting E
wall posters and he had been paid Rs. 25 per day. Among these wall·
posters there were a few "photos showing Sri N.T. Rama Rao in the

-- disguise of Lord Krishna Playing-'shanku"'.

The election petitioner examined Dukkasuri Appa Rao and Venne F
Subba Rao before the High Court. He did not examine the third person
who was alleged to have pasted the wall posters at the addresses mentioned
in Schedule A to the petition. The examination-in-chief of Dukkasuri Appa
Rao and Venne Subba Rao is almost identical. The cross examination of
the former is more extensive. It is therefore. that we refer to his evidence.
Dukkasuri Appa Rao deposed that he was a labourer in Tanuku. He and G
two others had pasted wall posters on behalf of the successful candidate.
They had affixed wall posters and door posters. The posters had been given
to them about 15 days prior to the election when they had gone to the
Telugu Desam Party election office. The successful candidate, his election
agent and some others were present there. The successful candidate had H
350 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1993] 2 S.C.R.

A engaged Dukkasuri Appa Rao and two others to affix the posters on wages
of Rs. 25 per head. They were given about 1500 wall posters and 5000 door
posters. The wall posters depicted N.T. Rama Rao in the role of Lord
Krishna. The wages had been paid daily. Dukkasuri Appa Rao had
retained with himself one poster because he had liked it and he had given
it to the election petitioner about three months before the date of his
B deposition. In cross examination Dukkasuri Appa Rao stated that he also
did agricultural work. He was not a member of the Telugu Desa,m Party.
He had nol been called to the election office of that party either before or
after the election. While he had been working near a coffee hotel some-
body, whose name he did not know, had come and called him to the Telugu
c Desam Party office. The election petitioner had asked him in the Congress
Party office whether he had any election posters. He had replied that he
had one and gave it to the election petitioner. It was similar to the poster
at Ex. A-2 (the offending poster). His affidavit had been taken by the
election petitioner at Tanuku. After having made that affidavit the election
D petitioner had asked for the poster and he had given it to him.

It must be stated here that no evidence was led by the election
petitioner to show that the offending posters had been got printed by or
on behalf of the successful candidate. Learned counsel for the election
petitioner drew our attention to the cross-examination of the successful
E candidate wherein it had been stated that he had incurred the expenditure
of Rs. 4,000 upon writing wall posters, painting and other publicity and had
also paid Rs. 8,000 to a printer. These statements, however, were not
followed up in further cross-examination. There is, therefore, no evidence

F
to show that the offending posters were printed by or on behalf of the
successful candidate. -
There is no doubt in our mind that the offending poster is a religious
symbol. The depiction of anyone, be it N.T. Rama Rao or any other person,
in the attire of Lord Krishna blowing a 'shanku' and quoting the words
from the Bhagavad Gita addressed by Lord Krishna to Arjuna that his
G incarnation would be born upon the earth in age after age to restore
dharma is not only to a Hindu by religion but to every Indian symbolic of
the Hindu religion. The use by a candidate of such a symbol coupled with
the printing upon it of words derogatory of a .rival political party must lead
to the conclusion that the religious symbol was used with a view to
H prejudicially affect the election of the candidate of the rival political party.
MUUAPUDI VENKATA v. VEDULA SURYANARAYANA [BHARUCHA, J.] 351

The question, therefore, is : is it established upon the record that the A
offending poster was used at the election by the Sll_Ccessful candidate or his
agent or by any other person with the consent of the successful candidate

-
or his election agent. As has been stated, there is no evidence to show that
the offending poster was printed by or at the behest of the successful
candidate. The successful candidate himself in his evidence denied that he
had had the offending posters printed or pasted. The evidence of Duk-
B
kasuri Appa Rao and Venne Subba Rao is, jn our view, not satisfactory.
In the first place, the averment in the election petition was that the
offending posters had been pasted by the "respondent herein who is a
Telugu Desam party candidate and with his consent and connivance his
followers supporters and his party men and election agent ..... ". Both c
Dukkasuri Appa Rao and Venne Subba Rao stated in the witness-box that
they were not members of the Telugu Desam Party. They were called to
the Telugu Desam Party election office for the first time on the day on
which they were engaged for a daily wage to paste the wall posters. The
averment in the election petition that the offending posters were pasted by D
followers, supporters and party men of the successful candidate is, there-
fore, not established. If the evidence of Dukkasuri Appa Rao and Venne
Subba Rao was true the election petition would have stated that the
successful candidate and his election agent had engaged Dukkasuri Appa
Rao and Venne Subba Rao on daily wages to affix the offending posters.
Secondly, the offending posters were not put to Dukkasuri Appa Rao and E
Venne Subba Rao in examination in chief and were not identified by them
as being the posters that they had pasted. Thirdly, neither of these two

- witnesses identified the places at which they had pasted the offending
posters. It was not stated by them that they had pasted the posters at any
of the addresses in Tanuku mentioned in Schedule A to the election F
petition. The evidence of Dukkasuri Appa Rao is suspect also because he
claimed to have retained one offending poster which he gave to the
petitioner; this is not borne out by the election petition nr the affidavit
made by him.

The standard of proof in an election petition is rigorous, having G
regard to the quasi-criminal nature of the proceeding. We are not satisfied
that upon the evidence before us the charge laid against the successful
candidate under section 123(3) has been established.

Learned counsel on behalf of the election petitioner drew our atten- H
352 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1993] 2 S.C.R.

A tion to the statements made"by the successful candidate's election agent in _.J·
- ~.~'-

regard to a van used for canvassing. He stated that the van toured the
Constituency. There were photographs of N.T. Rama Rao in his vario_us
film roles exhibited in the van. He said that exhibit A-13 was a photograph
which showed "that a poster showing N.T. Rama Rao in the role of Krishna
blowing a conch was affixed to publicity van but I have no personal
B knowledge about it". The statement that the election agent had no personal
knowledge in this behalf was not probed in further cross-examination. It is
also not established that the poster shown by the photograph exhibit A-13
was what we have called the offending poster in that it not only showed
N.T. Rama Rao in the role of Lord Krishna blowing a conch but also
c contained the afore-mentioned 'sloka' from the Bhagavad Gita and the
statement that the Congress was a deceitful party which should be
defeated. So far as we can.ascertain from the judgment under appeal, the
offending posters were produced only at exhibits A-2 and A-18.

The evidence upon the record does not, to our mind, establish that
D the offending posters were used at the election by the successful candidate
or his election agent or with their consent.

Having regard to our finding that the charge of corrupt practice
under section 123(3) has not been established, we do not find it necessary
to consider the argument that the election petition did not plead all
E
necessary material facts and did not give all necessary particulars so that -"( .
the election petition was liable to be dismissed in /imine.

In the result the : app~~l is allowed and the election petition is
dismissed. The respondent shall pay to the appellant costs quantified at
F Rs. 10,000.

G.N. Appeal allowed.
'