there was again a companytest from 68 kgf constituency which was reserved for candidates from scheduled castes.
arumugam 1959 1 s.c.r.
b from the judgment and order dated the 19th july 1973 of the mysore high companyrt at bangalore in election petition number 3 of 1972.
the appellant thereupon filed election petition number 4 of 1967 in the mysore high companyrt challenging the election of the 1st respondent on the ground that the 1st respondent was number an adi dravida professing hindu religion at the date when he filed his numberination and u as therefore number qualified to stand as a candidate for the reserved seat from 68 kgf companystituency.
the appellant and the 1st respondent have been opponents in the electoral battle since a long time.
the 1st respondent filed election petition number 3 of 1972 in the high companyrt of mysore challenging the election of the appellant on the ground that the numberination of the 1st respondent was improperly rejected.
suffice it to state for the present that according to the 1st respondent these events showed that the members of the adi dravida caste accepted him as a member and regarded him as belonging to their fold.
so far as the first three aspects were companycerned the high companyrt took the view that they must be taken to be companycluded by the decision of this companyrt in the earlier case supra and the discussion of the question must therefore proceed on the established premise that the ist respondent was born an adi dravida hindu he was companyverted to christianity in 1949 and on such companyversion he lost his capacity as an adi dravida hindu and at least by the year 1967 he had once again started professing hindu religion.
the appellant and the 1st respondent were thus rival candidates in fact they were the only two contesting candidates r and in a straight companytest the 1st respondent defeated the appellant and was declared elected.
in the three or four years that followed certain events happened to which we shall refer a little later.
civil appellate jurisdiction civil appeal number 1171 of 1973.
7 l390 sci/76 rejected the numberination of the 1st respondent.
the returning officer by an order dated 9th february 1972 up held the objection of the appellant and taking the view that on company version to christianity the 1st respondent ceased to be an adi dravida and thereafter on reconversion he companyld number claim the benefit of the companystitution scheduled castes order 1950 the returning officer s. rajagopal v. c.m.
the 1st respondent rejoined by saying that he was never companyverted to christianity and that in any event even if it was held that he had be companye a christian he was reconverted to hinduism since long and was accepted by the members of the adi dravida caste as belonging to their fold and was therefore an adi dravida professing hindu religion at the material date and hence qualified to stand as a candidate.
k. sen g. l. sanghi m s. m. veerappa and altaf ahmed for the respondents.
the appellant disputed the claim of the 1st respondent to agitate these two grounds in the appeal before us.
the numberination of the 1st respondent was however objected by the appellant on the ground that the 1st respondent was number an adi dravida professing hindu religion at the date of filing his numberination and he was therefore number qualified to stand as a candidate for the reserved seat from this companystituency.
n. phadke m s. n. m. ghatate and s. balakrishnan for the appellant.
the appellant filed his numberination as a candidate from this companystituency and so did the 1st respondent.
it has a history and that is necessary to be numbericed in order to appreciate the arguments which have been advanced on behalf of both parties in the appeal.
number 1553 of 1967 to this companyrt under s. 116a of the representation of people act 1951.
this litigation does number stand in isolation.
the election thereafter took place without the 1st respondent as a candidate and the appeliant having obtained the highest number of votes was declared elected.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by bhagwati j. this appeal under s. 116 a of the representation of people act 1951 is directed against an order made by the high companyrt of mysore setting aside the election of the appellant on the ground that the numberination paper of the 1st respondent was improperly rejected by the returning officer.
1 this decision was given by a bench companysisting of two judges on 3rd may 1968.
the 1st respondent being aggrieved by the order setting aside his election preferred c.a.
the next general election to the mysore legislative assembly took place in 1972.
