N. Vigneshwaran Vs Director General of Income Tax (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court dismissed a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking directions to the Income Tax authorities and Election Commission officials to verify the financial disclosures, sources of income, transactions, and statutory filings made by a candidate in election affidavits.
The Court held that the relief sought was not maintainable in view of Article 329(b) of the Constitution of India, which provides that elections to Parliament or State Legislatures can be challenged only through an election petition filed in the manner prescribed by law.
The Court referred to Section 100 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which specifies the grounds on which an election may be declared void. It observed that such issues can only be raised through an election petition.
Reliance was placed on the Supreme Court decision in Kisan Shankar Kathore v. Arun Dattatray Sawant (2014) 14 SCC 162. The Supreme Court had held that when objections are raised regarding incorrect disclosures or suppression of material information in election affidavits, the Returning Officer may not be able to conduct a detailed enquiry at the nomination stage. In such cases, the issue can later be examined in an election petition. The Supreme Court also observed that if suppression or misinformation is ultimately established, the nomination may be treated as improperly accepted and the election can be declared void.
