The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Victory of truth, says M.J. Jacob

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Sunday, Mar 08, 2009
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Victory of truth, says M.J. Jacob

Special Correspondent

T.M. Jacob to move a review petition against the Supreme Court judgment

High Court had found the MLA guilty
Charge was spreading of false statements

M.J. Jacob

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is the victory of truth and democracy, said M.J. Jacob of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) describing the upholding of his election from Piravam in the last Assembly elections by the Supreme Court. His opponent Kerala Congress (Jacob) leader T.M. Jacob said he would move a review petition against it.

Through the judgment delivered by J. Markandey Katju, the apex court set aside the Kerala High Court’s judgment that had declared the election of the LDF candidate as void. The court allowed the appeal filed by Mr. M.J. Jacob against the verdict of Thottathil Radhakrishnan of the High Court which had found him, his election agent O.V.Vijayan and two others who were his witnesses guilty of corrupt practice under Section 123(4) of the Representation of People Act by publishing and distributing among the voters a pamphlet containing false statements affecting the character and conduct of the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate T.M. Jacob.

Referring to the pamphlet, the apex court said it did not say that Mr. T.M. Jacob had harboured any accused. The allegation about the attempt to murder some persons were not against him but against a member of his personal staff. The court asked how it affected the personal character or conduct of Mr. T.M. Jacob.

Crucial fact

The court contended that there was no doubt that any false accusation relating to the personal character or conduct of any candidate calculated to prejudice the prospect of his election would amount to a corrupt practice. But, what was crucial was that the false statement should relate to the personal character or conduct of a defeated candidate. Where the false statement was about someone other than the candidate, the court had refused to consider the publication to be a corrupt practice under Section 123(4).

The court pointed out that a basic principle in the law relating to elections and election petitions was that the mandate of the people as expressed in the election results should ordinarily be respected by courts and the election of a successful candidate should not be lightly set aside.

It added that in a democracy, many allegations and counter-allegations were made and sometimes they were incorrect. But that did not mean that an election should be set aside straightway on that account as had been done in the present case unless all the ingredients of Section 123 (4) were clearly made out. It noted that otherwise almost every election would have to be set aside.

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