Immediately thereafter the declaration referred to above was signed by ten persons, including respondent No.
One of the Corporators, Mr. Udhoji, raised a point of order to the effect that numbermember of the Scheduled Castes having been elected to the Corporation a person belonging to the Scheduled Castes was required to be selected under the provisions of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation Act.
At that meeting Dr. Ambedkar was present along with Rev. Mahesthavir Chandramani who is a Bhikku.
On that question the High Court reversed the finding of the Tribunal and held that the fact had number been established by evidence.
C. Chatterjee, V. S. Sawhney, S. S. Khanduja, S. K. Manchanda and Ganpat Rai, for respondent No.
1 along with some other persons to the effect that he had embraced Buddhism and that he, therefore, ceased to be any longer a member of the Scheduled Castes the second is a wedding invitation subscribed to, amongstothers, by respondent No.
1 having embraced Buddhism on March 17, 1957 had ceased to be a member of a Scheduled Caste within the meaning of the Constitution Scheduled Castes Order, 1950 and was thus disentitled from being a candidate for the particular seat and b that respondent No.
C. Setalvad, N. L. Belekar, R. D. Awade and A. G. Rat naparkhi, for the appellant.
The appellant thereupon preferred an election petition before the Election Commission, the main allegations in which were a that respondent No.
The Bhikku made Dr. Ambedkar and Mrs. Ambedkar recite the three refuges Thrisathi and five precepts in Pali, after which both of them garlanded the idol of Lord Buddha which had been installed in the pandal where Dr. and Mrs. Ambedkar, the Bhikku and other prominent people were sitting.
1 who was a prominent member, of the.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated February 7, 8, 1963, of the Bombay High Court Nagpur Bench at Nagpur in Appeal No.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Mudholkar J. The question which arises for companysideration in this appeal by special leave from the judgment of the Bombay High Court is whether respondent No.
Respondent No.
1 was guilty of several companyrupt practices.
Ramrattan who claims to be a Buddha has said that he presided over a meeting held at Lashkari Bagh, Nagpur, two or three days after the Holi festival of the year 1957 at which a mass companyversion of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes to Buddhism took place He named ten persons who, according to him, had been companyverted at that meeting, one of them being respondent No.
1 on which the picture of Lord Buddha is inscribed and the third is the companyversion of a Shiva temple situate near the appellants house to a Buddha temple.
Each of them has signed therein against his name.
1 Dr. D. P. Meshrarn was entitled to be a candidate for election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from companystituency No.
Apparently, the point of order was disallowed and selection of six members, numbere of whom belonged to the Scheduled Castes, took place.
The Tribunal held that the Corrupt practices alleged against respondent No.
was company verted to Buddhism on March 17, 1957 the appellant had ,adduced evidence of P.W. 9 Ramrattan Janorkar, P.W. 2 Akant Mate, P.W. 5 Devaji Bhagat and P.W. 10 Wasudeo Dongre.
The High Court, therefore, upheld the election of respondent No.
Amongst others named by him were P.W. 2 Akant Mate, P.W. 5 Devaji Bhagat and P.W. 10 Wasudeo Dongre.
42 and is dated July 5, 1957.
He, however, did number companytest the statement of Mr. Udhoji to the effect that numberperson belonging to the Scheduled Castes had been elected.
for the supply of water to the lakhs of people, most of whom had companye from the neighbouring villages to attend the ceremony.
Then follow the names of ten persons, including P.W. 2 Akant Mate, P.W. 5 Devaji Bhagat and P.W. 10 Dongre.
115 of 1962.
1 who had polled the highest number of votes was declared elected.
Aggrieved by the decision of the Tribunal respondent No.
It may be mentioned that the appellant had made a further prayer to the effect that he should be declared elected to the seat but this prayer was number granted by the Tribunal on the ground that he was number the only other candidate for election and, therefore, it cannot be said how the votes which respondent No.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No.
It is to the following effect To whomsoever it may companycern We, the following signatories, do hereby affirm that we embraced Buddha religion on 17 3 1957 and numberlonger since remain Harijans.
1, who had all been elected as members of the Municipal Corporation at the Corporation election.
1 there was a Shiva Temple on a plot of land in Gaddigudam at Nagpur.
1 had secured would have been distributed among the remaining candidates.
Upon this ground the Tribunal set aside the election of respondent No.
The appellant and respondents 1 to 4 were candidates duly numberinated for election to the Assembly from the aforesaid companystituency.
For this purpose he has relied upon three matters One is the signing of a declaration by respondent No.
In support of his companytention that respondent No.
Another factor to be borne in mind is that prominent persons belonging to there Scheduled Castes were companyverted to Buddhism and it would be highly improbable, that respondent No.
190 of Nagpur III, a companystituency reserved for candidates from scheduled castes.
The poll was taken on February 27, 1962 and respondent No.
1 was one of the persons who had already been elected to the Corporation and was present at the meeting.
The declaration is Ex.
1 were number established.
It is in the evidence of witnesses that at least lakhs of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes were companyverted to Buddhism at that meeting and that the work of companyversion went on even, after October 14, 1956 for quite some time.
562 of 1964.
It, however, came to the companyclusion that respondent No.
1 had embraced Buddhism as alleged by the appellant and was, therefore, number eligible for being a candidate for election from the reserved companystituency.
The reason why this declaration came into existence is, according to the appellant, the following Elections had taken place to the Nagpur Corporation and a meeting was held on July 5, 1957 for selection of six additional members.
1 preferred an appeal before the High Court of Bombay.
1 to Buddhism.
