Title: Laddu Ram Kori v. Jajpal Singh Jajji and Ors
Decided on: 14 November, 2023
+ Election Petition No. 8 of 2019
CORAM: HON’BLE Justice Sunita Yadav
Introduction
A recent election petition against BJP MLA Jajpal Singh was dismissed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on the grounds that it contained false information about his caste certificate and that it has commenced a criminal case against him.
Facts of the Case
Notably, Ladduram Kori, a BJP politician, filed the writ case after Singh won a reserved seat in the Ashoknagar constituency in 2018, when Singh was a member of the Congress. Singh joined the BJP in March 2020 and won the byelection. Only the procedures under Article 226 of the Constitution apply to the “final and conclusive” order issued by the State-Level High Power Caste Scrutiny Committee. The petitioner for the election had already petitioned the supreme court for special leave, contesting the Division Bench ruling of the High Court upholding the caste inspection committee’s conclusions, which confirmed the respondent MLA’s ‘NAT’ status. The SLP was fired on August 9, 2023.
Courts analysis and decision
The court emphasized that, contrary to Kori’s original allegations, there is no evidence to support the Economic Offenses Wing’s claim that it took cognizance of Jajpal Singh or even filed a formal complaint against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other IPC provisions. Ultimately, the court held that the petitioner only filed the current election petition after the respondent lost the 2018 election, and only then did he make specific caste-related accusations. Since respondent no. 1 moved to Madhya Pradesh from Punjab before 1950, the election petitioner claimed that he was originally a Sikh. The court went on to say that although the respondent ran for office as a member of the SC community in both 2013 and 2021, the election petitioner did not protest. As previously stated by a co-ordinate bench of the High Court in another writ petition, the petitioner is a “busy body,” and the court highlighted that he has not shown what fundamental rights were violated by Jajpal Singh’s election. Consequently, the court awarded the election petitioner Rs 50,000/-as costs for the mental suffering he inflicted on the respondent in accordance with Section 35(A) of the CPC.
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Written by- Hargunn Kaur Makhija
