Miryabilli Ramagao Naidu PW 10 , Maddela Paparao PW 11 , Votti Mukhalingam PW 12 and B. Ramana PW 13 .
Such posters were pasted through out the companystituency.
The High Court has recorded a finding that the appellant is guilty of the companyrupt practice under Section 123 3 and on that basis the election of the appellant has been set aside.
The relevant pleading of this companyrupt practice is companytained in para xxvii of the election petition.
The appellant was candidate of the Telugu Desam Party while respondent No.
A photograph Ex.
7 of 1990, setting aside the election of the appellant to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from No.6 Pathapatnam Assembly Constituency held on 22.11.1989.
1 who obtained 40,766 votes.
The clear and unambiguous impression which is left on the reader of the poster is that the said Supreme of Telugu Desam is an avatar of Lord Krishna.
The clear implication and the innuendo of the poster was also pleaded in para xxvii of the election petition as under It is further respectfully submitted that the said poster depicted the Telugu Desam Supreme as an Avtar or an incarnation of God who has appeared on the soil of Andhra Pradesh to destroy the evil and save the people.
The only question for decision in this appeal is the companyrectness of the High Courts finding against the appellant for companymission of the companyrupt practice under Section 123 3 of the R.P. Act.
The other grounds on which the election was challenged have number been held to be proved and, therefore, reference to them is unnecessary at this stage.
1 they would be voting for the Avatar of God who has companye to destroy the evil and save the people and that if they vote against him, they would be doing something against the wishes of God and would be incurring the displeasure and wrath of God.
A 7 of the above poster proved to have been taken by the photographer Chowdary Vaikuntarao PW 14 was produced as evidence and the other witnesses examined were Narayana Rao Dharmana PW 1 election petitioner .
The inscription on the poster as stated above is from the Bhagavadgita.
The election petition was filed on several grounds including the companyrupt practice under Section 123 3 of the R.P. Act of appealing for votes on the ground of his religion.
It is significant that numberevidence was led in rebuttal by the appellant who failed to examine even himself as a witness to deny the allegations made against him.
Another witness K. Veerabhadra Rao PW 9 was disbelieved by the High Court and, therefore, we are excluding his testimony from companysideration.
J. This is an appeal under Section 116A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 for short the R.P. Act by the returned candidate against the judgment dated 18th December, 1991 by N.D. Patnaik, J. of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Election Petition No.
The appellant polled 41,040 votes and was declared elected against respondent No.
The gist of the pleading is that the appellant on 17.11.1989 got pasted posters on the walls at several places in the companystituent which depicted the Telugu Desam Party Supremo N.T. Rama Rao in the role of Lord Krishna worshipped by the Hindus as an incarnation blowing a companych shell, a sloka from Bhagwad Gita written at the top of the poster and below the photograph of N.T. Rama Rao his clarion call to the voters to defeat the deceitful Congress which had sold away the nation.
The bulk of the electorate are made to believe that in voting for respondent No.
1 Narayana Rao Dharmana was the Congress I candidate at the election.
