THANGJAM ARUNKUMARversusYUMKHAM ERABOT SINGH & ORS.

                   [2023] 11 S.C.R. 392 : 2023 INSC 762



                            CASE DETAILS
                     THANGJAM ARUNKUMAR
                                     v.
                YUMKHAM ERABOT SINGH & ORS.
                  (Civil Appeal Nos. 4179-4180 of 2023)
                            AUGUST 23, 2023
       [DR. DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD, CJI AND
           PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA, J.]

                              HEADNOTES

     Issue for consideration: Election petition if liable to be dismissed
by allowing the Or.7, r.11 application for non-compliance of s.83(1)(c),
Representation of People Act, 1951.
    Representation of People Act, 1951 – s.83(1)(c) – Compliance, if
mandatory:
       Held: The requirement to file an affidavit under the proviso to s.83(1)
(c) is not mandatory – It is sufficient if there is substantial compliance – As
the defect is curable, an opportunity may be granted to file the necessary
affidavit – In the instant case, the election petition contained an affidavit and
also a verification – In this very affidavit, the election petitioner had sworn
on oath that the paragraphs where he raised allegations of corrupt practice
are true to the best of his knowledge – Though there was no separate and
an independent affidavit with respect to the allegations of corrupt practice,
there was substantial compliance of the requirements u/s. 83(1)(c) – No
case made out by the appellant-returned candidate for interfering with the
judgment of the High Court. [Paras 14, 15 and 17]

       LIST OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES

     T.M. Jacob v. C. Poulose (1999) 4 SCC 274 : [1999] 2 SCR 659 –
followed.
    G.M. Siddeshwar v. Prasanna Kumar (2013) 4 SCC 776 : [2013] 4
SCR 1107; A. Manju v. Prajwal Revanna (2022) 3 SCC 269 – relied on.
                                392
    THANGJAM ARUNKUMAR v. YUMKHAM ERABOT SINGH                           393
                     & ORS.

      Ch. Subbarao v. Member, Election Tribunal, Hyderabad & Ors.
AIR 1964 SC 1027 : [1964] SCR 213; Pukhrem Sharatchandra Singh v.
Mairembam Prithviraj @ Prithibiraj Singh 2016 SCC OnLine Mani 30;
Mairembam Prithviraj @ Prithviraj Singh v. Pukhrem Sharatchandra Singh
(2017) 2 SCC 487 : [2016] 9 SCR 687; Lok Prahari through its General
Secretary v. Union of India & Ors. (2018) 4 SCC 699 : [2018] 2 SCR 892;
P.A. Mohammed Riyas v. M.K. Raghavan (2012) 5 SCC 511 : [2012] 4 SCR
56 – referred to.

       OTHER CASE DETAILS INCLUDING IMPUGNED
              ORDER AND APPEARANCES
     CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 4179-4180
of 2023.
    From the Judgment and Order dated 11.04.2023 of the High Court of
Manipur at Imphal in MC(El. Pet.) Nos. 67 and 135 of 2022.
     Appearances:
     Devadatt Kamat, Sr. Adv., Ms. Rajkumari Banju, David Ahongsangbam,
B R Sharma, S Gunabanta Meitei, Mohan Singh, Rajesh Inamdar, Javedur
Rahman, Harsh Pandey, Advs. for the Appellant.
      Shadan Farasat, Ms. Warisha Farasat, Aman Naqvi, Harshit Anand,
Ms. Hrishika Jain, Ms. Natasha Maheshwari, Ms. Mreganka Kukreja, Advs.
for the Respondent.

       JUDGMENT / ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT
                                    JUDGMENT
     PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA, J.
      1. This appeal arises out of the decision of the High Court of Manipur1
dated 11.04.2023, whereby the returned candidate’s application under Order
7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 19082, to dismiss the election
petition filed by the unsuccessful candidate on the ground that it lacks


1   Hereinafter “the High Court”.
2   Hereinafter, “the CPC”.
394              SUPREME COURT REPORTS                        [2023] 11 S.C.R.


material particulars and is in violation of mandatory requirements of law was
rejected by the High Court. The returned candidate is the Appellant before us.
       Facts:
       2. The short and precise facts necessary for our consideration are
as follows. The Appellant is the returned candidate to the XII Manipur
Legislative Assembly, having been elected from the 15-Wangkhei Assembly
Constituency. The Respondent No.1, the unsuccessful candidate moved
Election Petition No. 24 of 20223 alleging violations under Sections 80,
80A, 81, 84 read with Sections 100(1)(d)(iv) and 101 of the Representation
of People Act, 19514. The election petitioner prayed that the election of the
Appellant be held void and also to declare him to be the elected candidate.
It is important to note that the election petition alleges corrupt practice, in as
much as the petitioner pleaded that the returned candidate has not provided
the material particulars with respect to a financial transaction relating to
financing a loan.
      3. In response to the election petition, the Appellant moved two
applications under Order 7 Rule 11 read with Section 151 of the CPC and
under Section 86 of the Act seeking dismissal of the election petition on
the grounds of – (i) non-disclosure of cause of action/triable issue vis-à-vis
the alleged corrupt practice committed by the Appellant; (ii) the absence
of a concise statement of facts as mandated under Section 83 of the Act;
and (iii) for not serving a true self attested copy of the election petition on
the returned candidate as provided under Section 81 of the Act. Apart from
the above, and more importantly, the Appellant also sought dismissal of
the election petition on the ground that the Form-25 affidavit as prescribed
under Section 83 of the Act r/w Rule 94A of the Conduct of Election Rules,
19615 has not been filed along-with the election petition. It was alleged that
such an affidavit is mandatory, as the election petition raises allegations of
corrupt practice.
      4. The High Court, by the order impugned, dismissed the applications
under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC. The High Court observed that – (i) the
election petitioner had elaborately pleaded all the material facts and set forth


3     Hereinafter, “the Election Petition”.
4     Hereinafter, “the Act”.
5     Hereinafter, the “Rules”.
    THANGJAM ARUNKUMAR v. YUMKHAM ERABOT SINGH                            395
       & ORS. [PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA, J.]

full particulars of all the actions and omissions of the Appellant, sufficient to
constitute a case of corrupt practice. The High Court, therefore, concluded
that there is a cause of action and triable issues; (ii) the High Court also
concluded that the alleged non-compliance of Section 81(3) of the Act
is incorrect as the election petitioner had effectively attested the election
petition. For this purpose, High Court relied on the decisions of this Court in
Ch. Subbarao v. Member, Election Tribunal, Hyderabad & Ors.6, and also a
decision of the same Court in Pukhrem Sharatchandra Singh v. Mairembam
Prithviraj @ Prithibiraj Singh7, later came to be upheld by this Court in
Mairembam Prithviraj @ Prithviraj Singh v. Pukhrem Sharatchandra Singh8.
The High Court observed that although the election petitioner attested the
election petition as “true copy of the original” and not as “true copy of the
petition”, the same is in compliance with Section 81(3) of the Act.
      5. The submission that in all cases involving allegations of corrupt
practices, the election petitioner must mandatorily file an affidavit under
Section 83(1) of the Act was rejected without much discussion. The High
Court simply following the decision of this Court in Lok Prahari through
its General Secretary v. Union of India & Ors. 9, rejected the plea.
     Submissions:
      6. Mr. Devadatt Kamat, learned senior counsel appearing for the
Appellant initially argued the first two grounds, namely that there is a
non-disclosure of the cause of action and also that there is a complete non-
compliance of the requirement under Section 81(3) of the Act with respect
to the attestation of the election petition. However, as we expressed our
disinclination to interfere on those grounds, he took up the alternative point
and emphatically argued that the judgment of the High Court is unsustainable
as the election petition completely violated the ‘mandatory’ requirement of
83(1)(c) of the Act. He argued that the election petition must fail for not
filing the additional affidavit in support of the allegation of corrupt practice.
He elaborated this point by taking us through the Section, and in particular,
the proviso which requires that in cases of corrupt practice, “the petition
shall also be accompanied by an affidavit”.


6   AIR 1964 SC 1027
7   2016 SCC OnLine Mani 30
8   (2017) 2 SCC 487
9   (2018) 4 SCC 699
396           SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 11 S.C.R.


      7. On the specific submission of Mr. Devadatt Kamat as to how
the election petition alleging corrupt practice must fail for not filling the
additional affidavit, Mr. Shadan Farasat, learned counsel for the election
petitioner submitted that no such additional affidavit is filed. Mr. Farasat,
however, strengthened his case in the written submission by referring to the
decisions of this Court in G.M. Siddeshwar v. Prasanna Kumar10, and A.
Manju v. Prajwal Revanna11, where it was held that non-filing of a Form-25
affidavit is a curable defect.
      Issue for consideration:
      8. The only issue for consideration is whether the election petition is
liable to be dismissed by allowing the Order 7 Rule 11 application for non-
compliance of Section 83(1)(c) of the Act.
      Analysis:
       9. We may at the outset state that there is absolutely no consideration of
this issue by the High Court. Neither the implications of Section 83(1)(c) of
the Act, nor the interpretation of its proviso were taken up for consideration
by the High Court. Further, surprisingly, the High Court simply referred to
the decision of this Court in Lok Prahari (supra) and rejected the submission.
Lok Prahari (supra) has no bearing on the issue.
      10. We would refer to the statutory provisions and the judgments on
the point for answering the question of law raised by the Appellant. We will
first refer to Sections 83 and 86 of the Act and Order 6 Rule 15 of the CPC.
      “83. Contents of petition — (1) An election petition—
      (a) shall contain a concise statement of the material facts on which
      the petitioner relies;
      (b) shall set forth full particulars of any corrupt practice that the
      petitioner alleges, including as full a statement as possible of the
      names of the parties alleged to have committed such corrupt practice
      and the date and place of the commission of each such practice; and



10 (2013) 4 SCC 776
11 (2022) 3 SCC 269
   THANGJAM ARUNKUMAR v. YUMKHAM ERABOT SINGH                             397
      & ORS. [PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA, J.]

     (c) shall be signed by the petitioner and verified in the manner
     laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) for the
     verification of pleadings:
     Provided that where the petitioner alleges any corrupt practice, the
     petition shall also be accompanied by an affidavit in the prescribed
     form in support of the allegation of such corrupt practice and the
     particulars thereof.
     (2) Any schedule or annexure to the petition shall also be signed by
     the petitioner and verified in the same manner as the petition.
     86. Trial of election petitions — (1) The High Court shall dismiss an
     election petition which does not comply with the provisions of Section
     81 or Section 82 or Section 117.
     Order 6 Rule 15: Verification of pleadings — (1) Save as otherwise
     provided by any law for the time being in force, every pleading shall
     be verified at the foot by the party or by one of the parties pleading
     or by some other person proved to the satisfaction of the court to be
     acquainted with the facts of the case.
     (2) The person verifying shall specify, by reference to the numbered
     paragraphs of the pleading, what he verifies of his own knowledge and
     what he verifies upon information received and believed to be true.
     (3) The verification shall be signed by the person making it and shall
     state the date on which and the place at which it was signed.
     (4) The person verifying the pleading shall also furnish an affidavit
     in support of his pleadings.”
      11. The first decision on this issue is by a Constitution Bench in T.M.
Jacob v. C. Poulose12. In the said case, the returned candidate was defending
an election petition filed against him on the ground of non-compliance with
the requirements under Section 81(3) of the Act. This Court, after going
through the difference in the legislative intent of Sections 81 and 83 of the
Act, observed that non-compliance with the requirements of the former
provides for an automatic dismissal of an election petition under Section 86
of the Act, and non-compliance with the latter is a curable defect and would
not merit dismissal at the threshold. In this light, this Court observed that:


12 (1999) 4 SCC 274
398           SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 11 S.C.R.


      “38. … to our mind, the legislative intent appears to be quite clear,
      since it divides violations into two classes — those violations which
      would entail dismissal of the election petition under Section 86(1) of
      the Act like non-compliance with Section 81(3) and those violations
      which attract Section 83(1) of the Act, i.e., non-compliance with the
      provisions of Section 83. It is only the violation of Section 81 of the
      Act which can attract the application of the doctrine of substantial
      compliance as expounded in Murarka Radhey Shyam, (1964) 3 SCR
      573 and Ch. Subbarao, (1964) 6 SCR 213 cases. The defect of the
      type provided in Section 83 of the Act, on the other hand, can be dealt
      with under the doctrine of curability, on the principles contained in
      the Code of Civil Procedure.”
      12. In Siddeshwar (supra), the matter came up before a three-judge
bench of this Court by way of a reference. When the matter was placed
before a two-judge bench, it was contended, relying upon P.A. Mohammed
Riyas v. M.K. Raghavan13, that an election petitioner has to file the Form-
25 affidavit in support of the corrupt practice allegation, in addition to the
usual verifying affidavit which forms an integral part of the election petition.
On the other hand, the two-judge bench was also appraised of judgments
to the contrary which held that not filing of the affidavit is a curable defect.
In order to give quietus to the issue, the matter was referred to a bench of
three judges. After relying on various precedents, the three Judge Bench in
Siddeshwar observed as under:
      “1. The principal question of law raised for our consideration is
      whether, to maintain an election petition, it is imperative for an election
      petitioner to file an affidavit in terms of Order 6 Rule 15(4) of the
      Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in support of the averments made in
      the election petition in addition to an affidavit (in a case where resort
      to corrupt practices have been alleged against the returned candidate)
      as required by the proviso to Section 83(1) of the Representation of
      the People Act, 1951. In our opinion, there is no such mandate in
      the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and a reading of P.A.
      Mohammed Riyas v. M.K. Raghavan, (2012) 5 SCC 511, which suggests
      to the contrary, does not lay down correct law to this limited extent.


13 (2012) 5 SCC 511
THANGJAM ARUNKUMAR v. YUMKHAM ERABOT SINGH                           399
   & ORS. [PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA, J.]

 2. Another question that has arisen is that if an affidavit filed in
 support of the allegations of corrupt practices of a returned candidate
 is not in the statutory Form 25 prescribed by the Conduct of Elections
 Rules, 1961, whether the election petition is liable to be summarily
 dismissed. In our opinion, as long as there is substantial compliance
 with the statutory form, there is no reason to summarily dismiss an
 election petition on this ground. However, an opportunity must be given
 to the election petitioner to cure the defect. Further, merely because
 the affidavit may be defective, it cannot be said that the petition filed
 is not an election petition as understood by the Representation of the
 People Act, 1951.
 22. A plain reading of Rule 15 suggests that a verification of the plaint
 is necessary. In addition to the verification, the person verifying the
 plaint is “also” required to file an affidavit in support of the pleadings.
 Does this mean, as suggested by the learned counsel for Siddeshwar
 that Prasanna Kumar was obliged to file two affidavits—one in support
 of the allegations of corrupt practices and the other in support of the
 pleadings?
 23. A reading of Section 83(1)(c) of the Act makes it clear that what is
 required of an election petitioner is only that the verification should
 be carried out in the manner prescribed in CPC. That Order 6 Rule
 15 requires an affidavit “also” to be filed does not mean that the
 verification of a plaint is incomplete if an affidavit is not filed. The
 affidavit, in this context, is a stand-alone document.
 25. It seems to us that a plain and simple reading of Section 83(1)
 (c) of the Act clearly indicates that the requirement of an additional
 affidavit is not to be found therein. While the requirement of “also”
 filing an affidavit in support of the pleadings filed under CPC may be
 mandatory in terms of Order 6 Rule 15(4) CPC, the affidavit is not
 a part of the verification of the pleadings—both are quite different.
 While the Act does require a verification of the pleadings, the plain
 language of Section 83(1)(c) of the Act does not require an affidavit in
 support of the pleadings in an election petition. We are being asked to
 read a requirement that does not exist in Section 83(1)(c) of the Act.
400          SUPREME COURT REPORTS                        [2023] 11 S.C.R.


      37. A perusal of the affidavit furnished by Prasanna Kumar ex facie
      indicates that it was not in absolute compliance with the format
      affidavit. However, we endorse the view of the High Court that on a
      perusal of the affidavit, undoubtedly there was substantial compliance
      with the prescribed format. It is correct that the verification was also
      defective, but the defect is curable and cannot be held fatal to the
      maintainability of the election petition.
      38. Recently, in Ponnala Lakshmaiah v. Kommuri Pratap Reddy, (2012)
      7 SCC 788 the issue of a failure to file an affidavit in accordance with
      the prescribed format came up for consideration. This is what this
      Court had to say:
           “28. … The format of the affidavit is at any rate not a matter of
           substance. What is important and at the heart of the requirement
           is whether the election petitioner has made averments which are
           testified by him on oath, no matter in a form other than the one
           that is stipulated in the Rules. The absence of an affidavit or an
           affidavit in a form other than the one stipulated by the Rules does
           not by itself cause any prejudice to the successful candidate so
           long as the deficiency is cured by the election petitioner by filing
           a proper affidavit when directed to do so.”
      We have no reason to take a different view. The contention urged by
      Siddeshwar is rejected.”
                                                        (emphasis supplied)
      13. More recently, in A. Manju v. Prajwal Revanna(supra), this Court
dealt with the same question as to whether an election petition containing
an allegation of corrupt practice but not supported by an affidavit in Form
25, is liable to be dismissed at the threshold. This Court had observed:
      “26. However, we are not persuaded to agree with the conclusion
      arrived at by the High Court that the non-submission of Form 25 would
      lead to the dismissal of the election petition. We say so because, in
      our view, the observations made in Ponnala Lakshmaiah v. Kommuri
      Pratap Reddy, (2012) 7 SCC 788 which have received the imprimatur
   THANGJAM ARUNKUMAR v. YUMKHAM ERABOT SINGH                             401
      & ORS. [PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA, J.]

     of the three-Judge Bench in G.M. Siddeshwar v. Prasanna Kumar,
     (2013) 4 SCC 776, appear not to have been appreciated in the correct
     perspective. In fact, G.M. Siddeshwar v. Prasanna Kumar, (2013) 4
     SCC 776, has been cited by the learned Judge to dismiss the petition.
     If we look at the election petition, the prayer clause is followed by a
     verification. There is also a verifying affidavit in support of the election
     petition. Thus, factually it would not be appropriate to say that there is
     no affidavit in support of the petition, albeit not in Form 25. This was a
     curable defect and the learned Judge trying the election petition ought
     to have granted an opportunity to the appellant to file an affidavit in
     support of the petition in Form 25 in addition to the already existing
     affidavit filed with the election petition. In fact, a consideration of both
     the judgments of the Supreme Court referred to by the learned Judge
     i.e. Ponnala Lakshmaiah v. Kommuri Pratap Reddy, (2012) 7 SCC 788
     as well as G.M. Siddeshwar v. Prasanna Kumar, (2013) 4 SCC 776,
     ought to have resulted in a conclusion that the correct ratio in view
     of these facts was to permit the appellant to cure this defect by filing
     an affidavit in the prescribed form.”
                                                         (emphasis supplied)
      14. The position of law that emerges for the above referred cases is
clear. The requirement to file an affidavit under the proviso to Section 83(1)
(c) is not mandatory. It is sufficient if there is substantial compliance. As
the defect is curable, an opportunity may be granted to file the necessary
affidavit.
      15. In the instant case, the election petition contained an affidavit and
also a verification. In this very affidavit, the election petitioner has sworn on
oath that the paragraphs where he has raised allegations of corrupt practice
are true to the best of his knowledge. Though there is no separate and an
independent affidavit with respect to the allegations of corrupt practice,
there is substantial compliance of the requirements under Section 83(1)(c)
of the Act.
      16. We are in agreement with the conclusion of the High Court that
there is substantial compliance of the requirements under Section 83(1)
402            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                     [2023] 11 S.C.R.


(c) of the Act and this finding satisfies the test laid down by this Court
in Siddeshwar(supra). Even the subsequent decision of this Court in
Revanna(supra) supports the final conclusion arrived at by the High Court.
      17. For the reasons stated above, we are of the opinion that the
Appellant has not made out a case for interfering with the judgment of the
High Court. We, therefore, proceed to dismiss C.A. Nos. 4179-4180 of 2023
arising out of the judgment and order of the High Court dated 11.04.2023 in
MC (El. Pet.) No. 67 of 2022 and MC (El. Pet.) No. 135 of 2022.
      18. Parties shall bear their own costs.


Headnotes prepared by:                                      Appeals dismissed.
Divya Pandey