NARAYAN BHASKAR KHARE versus THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

Citation: [1957] 1 S.C.R. 1081 · Decided: 03-05-1957 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: SUDHI RANJAN DAS · Disposal: Dismissed
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Judgment (excerpt)

S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS. 
1081 
NARAYAN BHASKAR KHARE 
v. 
THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA 
(and connected petition) 
(S. R. 
DAS c. J., 
BHAGWATI, 
JAFER IMAM, s. K. DAS, 
J. L. KAPUR, GAJENDRAGADKAR and 
A. K. SARKAR JJ.) 
President, Election of-Doubts and Disputes relating to such 
election-Jurisdiction and Power of Supreme Court, when can be 
exercised-'Election', Meaning of-Constitution of India, Arts. 71, 
62--The 
Presidential 
and Vice-Presidential Election Act, 
1952 
(XXXI of 1952), s. 14. 
The petitioners entertained grave doubts as to the 'propriety 
of holding the Presidential election before the general elections 
had been completed throughout the entire territory of India and, 
by applications filed under Aft. 71 (I ) of the Constitution as citizens. 
of India, invoked the jurisdiction and power of the Supreme Court 
thereunder ·to inquire into such doubts and sought for an order 
restraining the .Election 
Commission from 
taking the 
poll in 
connection with the election of the President, fixed for May 6, 
1957, till the general elections in the Union territory of Himachal 
Pradesh and in two 
Lok Sabha Constituencies of the State of 
Punjab, which were still to be held, had been completed. The 
expiry of the term of office of the then President which caused 
the Presidential election was to come . about on the mid-night of 
May 12, 1957. One of the petitioners alleged that he was a candi-
date for the Presidential election and the time intervening between 
the date when he received his nomination paper and the date fixed 
for the filing of it was too short to enable him to file it within time 
and the case of the other was that he was a prospective candidate 
for election to . the Lok Sabha from one of the Punjab Constituen-
cic>, where election was yet to be held, and would be prevented 
from exercising his right to vote for the election of the President. 
Held, that the present petitions were premature and mmt 
be dismissed. 
The jurisdiction and power conferred o;i the Supreme Court 
by Art. 71(1) of the Constitution 
to inquire into and decide 
doubts and disputes arising out of and in connection with the 
elccti::>n of the President can be ex~rdsed only after a particular 
candidat~ has been declared elected and on an election petition 
filed 
under 
s. 
14 
of the Presidential 
and 
Vice-Presidential 
Ekction Act of 1952. 
The word 'election' in Art. 71 of the Constitution is used in the 
wider sense to denote the entire process of election 
culminating 
3-81 S. C. India/59 
1957 
Mays. 
1957 
Narayan Bhaskar 
Jr hare 
v. 
The Election 
Commission of 
India 
Dase. 7, 
1082 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1957] 
in a candidate being declared elected 
and 
doubts and 
disputes 
arising out of and in connection with such election must include 
all doubts and disputes relating to any particular stage of it. 
N. ·P. Ponnuswamy v. Returning Officer, 
Namakkal 
Consti-
tuency, (1952) S.C.R. 218, referred to. 
It is a well recognised principle of the law of election that an 
election cannot be held up to facilitate the ventilation of individual 
grievances in derogation of the interest of the people in general 
and Art. 62 of the Constitution, which requires that the election 
of President must be completed within the time fixed by it and 
has been conceived in such interest, is mandatory in character. 
ORIGINAL 
JuR1smcnoN : 
Petitions No. 63 and 64 
of 1957. 
Petitions under Article 71 ( l) of the Constitution of 
India for clarification of doubts in connection with 
the election of the President. 
R. V. S. Mani and /. R. V. Sastri, for the peti-
tioner in Petition No. 63 of 1957. 
R. Patnaik, for the petitioner m Petition No. 64 of 
1957. 
M. C. Setalvad, Attorney-General for India, G. N. 
Joshi, Porus A. Mehta and R. H. Dhebar, for the res-
pondents ( Caveators) in both the petitions. 
1957. May 3: The Judgment of the Court was 
delivered by 
DAs C. J.-The petitioners in the above petitions 
have moved this Court to exercise the jurisdiction and 
power vested in it by and under Art. 71 ( l) of the Con-
stitution of India and to inquire into and decide what 
has been described as a "grave doubt" in connection 
with the 'election of the President of India and to direct 
the Election Commission not to proceed with the poll-
ing in connection with the said election which has been 
fixed for May 6, 1957, but to hold the same after duly 
completing all the elections to the Lok Sabha and the 
Legislature
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