WOPANSAO versus N. L. ODYUO & ORS.

Citation: [1971] SUPP. 1 S.C.R. 956 · Decided: 28-07-1971 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: J.M. SHELAT · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

956 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
:u 
WOPANSAO 
v. 
N. L. ODYUO & ORS. 
July 28, 1971 
[J. M. SHELAT AND A. N. RAY, JJ.] 
Representation of the People A.ct, 1950-Section 20(3) & 30-Service· 
Personnel-Statutory fiction does not take away right to get registered in 
constituency where personnel ordinarily residing, though place of .service 
alsv---Electoral roll-Finality of. 
The appellant challenged the election of respondent No. I to the Naga 
Land Assembly on the ground that the result of the election in so far as 
it concerned the respondent had been materially affected by the improper 
reception of votes cast in his favour by the personnel of the 12th Battalion 
Assam Rifles. It was urged (i) that the Electoral Registration Officer had 
no jurisdiction to register the personnel of the 12th Batallion Assam Rifles 
as voters, because, the service personnel under s. 20(3) of the 1950 Act 
would be deemed to be ordinarily resident on any date in the constituency 
in which, but for his having such service qualifications he would have been 
ordinarily resident on that date and (ii) that the service personnel were not 
Indian citizens. The High Court dismissed the election petition. Dismiss-
ing the appeal to this Court, 
HELD: (i) Section 30 of the 1950 Act does not confer jurisdiction 
on a civil court to entertain or adjudicate upon a question whether a 
person is or is not entitled to register himself in the electoral roll of a consti-
tuency or to question the illegality of the action taken by or under the 
authority of the Electoral Registration Officer or any decision given by 
the authority appointed under the 1950 Act for the revision of any such 
roll. The civil court therefore would have no jurisdiction to adjudicate 
upon a question whether the personnel of the 12th Battalion Assa1n Riff.cs 
in the present case were validly registered as service electors. [958E, F] 
B. M. Ramaswamy v. B. M. Krishnamurthy. [1963] 3 S.C.R. 479 and 
Kabul Singh v. Kundan Singh, [1970] I S.C.R. 845, referred to. 
(ii) But lack of power in the Electoral Registration Officer to register 
voters in violation of the provisions of the relevant statutes would lead to 
the ground of improper reception, refusal or rejection of any vote or re-
ception of any vote which is void and would. therefore, be a ground for 
avoiding the election under s. 100(1) (d) (iil) of the 1951 Act. 
[959GJ 
Baidyanath Panjiar v. Sitaram Mahto, [1970] I S.C.R. 839, referred to. 
(iii) In the present case the Electoral Registration Officer was within 
his jurisdiction to register the personnel of the 12th Batallion as ordinary 
residents in the constituency by reason of their statements in the prescrib-
ed forms. The effect of s. 20(5) of the 1950 Act is that statement of a mem-
ber having service qualification is to be accepted as correct in the absence 
of evidence to the contrary. There was no evidence to displace the state· 
ments in tho present case. [960E) 
Under 1. 20(3) a fiction is created that members having service qualifi-
cation would be deemed to be ordinarily resident at their home town or 
place but for their service qualification. The statutory fic\ion is intended 
WOPA!CSAO V. N. L. ODYUO (Ray,J.) 
957 
to confer the riaht to be reaistered as electors at their homo town or vii-
A 
!age but the fii;tion cannot take away the riaht of persons possessinc 
service qualification to aet themselvea reaistered in a constituency in which 
they were ordinarily residina tbouah 1uch place happens to be their place 
of service. [961B) 
!iv) There was no evidence to substantiate the alleaation that the mom. 
bers of the service personnel were not Indian citizens. On the contrary 
it was in evidence that the Electoral Registration Officer was satisfied about' 
B 
the declarations of the members of the service personnel about their citi· 
zenship. [962F] 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 1792 of 
1970. 
Appeal under s. 116A of the Representation of the People 
Act, 1951 from the judgment and order dated July 17; 1970 of 
the Assam and Nagaland High Court in Election Petition No. 
1 of 1969. 
V. K. Krishna Menon, D. P. Singh, Narayana Net/or and 
V. J. Francis, for the appellant. 
A. K. Sen, S. K. Ghosh, Naunit Lal, A. R. Barthakur, R. C. 
Chaudhary and Swranjit Sodhi, for respondent No. 1. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
Ray, J.-This is an appeal from the judgment dated 17 
July, 1970 of the High Court of Assam and Naga.land dismis-
sing 1he

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