KIRPAL SINGH, M.L.A. versus UTTAM SINGH & ANR.

Citation: [1985] SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 622 · Decided: 09-10-1985 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: O. CHINNAPPA REDDY · Disposal: Disposed off

Judgment (excerpt)

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KIRPAL SINGH, M.L.A. 
v. 
U'ITAM SINGH & ANR. 
OCTOJ!El\ 9, 1985 
l 0. CHlNNAJ'PA l\EUUY, 
J; .s. Vt;NKATAlWIIAti, V. llAlAKlUSHNA lillAIJI, 
R.Jl. HlSAA ANU V. KHALllJ, JJ.J 
Constitution of India, 1950 
-
Article 191 (1) (a) read 
with section 10 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 -
Disqualification for membership, applicability to Public Sector 
Undertakings -
Right to be elected and Right to speak for the 
people are questions to be decided by Parliament and not by the 
Court - Nature of interim orders to be passed by the Court in an 
election appeal when the election was set aside on grounds not 
covered by part Vll of the Act, explained. 
The appellant 
Kirpal Singh was elected to the Punjab 
Legislative Assembly from Majitha constituency at the general 
elections held in 1972. His election was set aside by High Court 
ill an Election Petition filed by one of the defeated candidates 
on the ground that the nomination paper of another candidate was 
improperly rejected by the Returning Officer for the reason that 
he was a development officer in the employment of the Life 
Insurance Corporation under whose Staff Regulations he was 
prohibited from seeking election. The High Court was of the view 
that the staff regulations could, at best, 
make 
Basant Singh 
liable to disciplinary action only. In the appeal under section 
116A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Court 
passed an interim order enabling the appellant to attend the 
assembly and sign the register, without participating in the 
proceedings or voting, and without drawing any remuneration. 
Subsequent to the filing of the appeal, there were three general 
elections with the result the appeal became wholly 1nfructuous. 
Disposing of the appeal, the Court, 
HELD : 1.1. Where an election is set aside for no fault of 
the duly elected candidate, such as a corrupt practice comnitted 
by him or his agent or a disqualification suffered by him, but on 
the ground that someone else's nomination had been improperly 
rejected, the more appropriate interim order would perhaps be to 
grant an absolute stay 
so that the Constituency 
may 
not go 
unrepresented for no fault of either the elected or those who 
elected. [624 C--D] 
KllU'AL SINGI! v. UTTAM SINGH 
623 
1. 2 The awarding of the cos ts by the High Court, in such 
circumstances is uncalled for. The 
appellant will receive his 
remwieration for the period for which he was elected as a 
legislator. t626 C-ll) 
1.3 The clear and undoubted object of Article 19l(l)(a) to 
(e) and the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 
(including section 10) is the preservation of the purity and 
integrity of the election process by preventing Government or 
State employees from taking part in the elections. Nowadays the 
activities of the State are so manifold and prolific that the 
State has been forced, in the interests of better management and 
administration and in order to further the Directive Principles 
of State POlicy, to set up various Corporations which are but 
mere instrumentalities of . the State. Whether the principle of 
Article 19l(l)(a) has to be extended to employees of State 
Corporations and 
other Public Sector Undertakings by suitable 
legislation is a question of policy better left to, be decided by 
the elected representatives of the people themselves and not to 
the Court whose decision can only be confined to interpretation. 
[625 E-H; 626 A) 
(The Court recommended to the Government to have several 
questions posed before it examined by the Law Commission early.) 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION ·: Civil Appeal No. 650 (NCE) 
of 197 5. 
r'rom the Judgment and Order dated 14. 3. 1975 of the Punjab 
and Haryana High Court in Election Petition No. 27 of 1972. 
K.K. Garg, A.K. Ganguli, M.M. Kshatriya and Mrs. Vandana 
Sharma for the Appellant. 
G.L. 
Sanghi, 
P.H. 
Parekh and 
P.K. 
Manohar 
for 
the 
Respondents. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
ClilNNAPPA REDDY, J, Shri Kirpal Singh was elected to the 
Punjab Legislative Assembly from Majitha Constituency at the 
general elections held in 1972. His election was set aside by 
High Court in an Election Petition filed by one of the defeated 
candidates on the ground that the nomination paper of another 
candidate was improperly rejected by the Returning OffiGer. The 
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1985] SUPP.3 s.c.R. 
nominatio

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