Amendment To Election Petition Can’t Be Permitted To Cure ‘Inherent Defect’ After Expiry Of Limitation Period: Orissa High Court
The Orissa High Court held that an amendment application under Order 6, Rule 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 cannot be allowed to cure some inherent defects in an election petition, changing its character and nature, after the expiry of the prescribed limitation period.
FACTS OF THE CASE.
M.K. Panda, lawyer for the applicant, implies a specific village under Panchayat, which stipulates that there is a unique error, including the electoral dispute, such as the complaint of once a rescue, cannot entertain the correction to be replaced. In addition, he stressed that FIVING revealed the opposite. I pressed that six members of a PanchayatSamiti village could not vote. However, when submitting an amendment request, the applicant requested a correction at the request of choice to replace the name of the village, so that such a dramatic change has corrected and tolerates the nature and the character of the dispute. He said he couldn’t do it. Mrs RATH, a lawyer on the other side, argued that the correction was not an important defect imposed a petitioner in the case of healing. He also argued that the election request would lose its value and ended with automatic dismissal because the amendment was not allowed. He also questioned the name of the village where the applicant mentioned, and emphasized that he was still waiting for the right information under R.T.I. Law provisions. Therefore, he is R.T.I. application
JUDGMENTS OF THE CASE
The Court held, “…its powers to amend a petition under Order VI, Rule 17 of Code of Civil Procedure could not be exercised so as to permit new grounds of charges to be raised or the character of the petition to be so altered so as to make it in substance and a new petition, when a fresh petition on those allegations would be time barred”. The Court was of the opinion that the above point of law squarely applies to the case in hand. Accordingly, it was held that the amendment to the election petition at this stage to cure an inherent defect cannot be allowed.
JUDGMENT REVIEWED BY KUNMUN DAS