9911796707
TMI Blog1992 (8) TMI 300X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... quired to be struck out. The High Court has dismissed this motion. 3. We have heard Shri G.L. Sanghi for the appellant and Shri R.F. Nariman for the respondents. We grant special leave. The appeal is heard and is disposed of by this order. A number of grounds appear to have been taken before the High Court in support of the Chamber Summons. But Shri Sanghi confined himself to and urged only three contentions in support of this appeal: (i) The first is that the allegation of corrupt practice under Sections 123(2), 123(3) and 123(3-A) in paras 1 to 20 of the memorandum of election petition refer to matters long anterior to April 23, 1991 when the nomination papers were lodged by the appellant and on which date alone appellant could be said to have legally acquired the status of a candidate and that, therefore, the allegations in these paragraphs relating, as they do, to a period anterior to April 23, 1991 even if proved, would not amount to corrupt practice by a candidate. Accordingly, these pleadings require to be struck out. (ii) Secondly, the allegations in other paragraphs of the petition are vague, bereft of material particulars and do not disclose a reasonable cause of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... candidature of Respondent I was finalised on April 16, 1991 and Respondent I and his party workers had started campaigning on that day. In the issue of Samna dated April 19, 1991 the candidature of Respondent I was officially and formally announced by the Shiv Sena party and Respondent I accepted the candidature by remaining present in the public meeting held on April 19, 1991 at Girgaum-Chowpatty. Respondent I was introduced to the voters in the said public meeting and Respondent I also sought the blessings of Shri Bal Thackeray in the said public meeting. Respondent 1 was thus holding out to be a candidate from April 16, 1991. 6. This, we are afraid, is not the correct perception of the matter. The view fails to take note of and give effect to the substitution of the definition of the expression candidate in Section 79(b). All sub-sections of Section 123 of the Act refer to the acts of a 'candidate' or his election agent or any other person with the consent of the candidate or his election agent. The substituted definition completely excludes the acts by a candidate up to the date he is nominated as a candidate. Shri Sanghi, therefore, asks us to take this posit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aterial particulars, alleges frivolousness and vexatiousness of the pleadings and lastly, alleges their inability and insufficiency to disclose a reasonable cause of action. 10. We may take up the last facet first. As Chitty, J. observed, There is some difficulty in affixing a precise meaning to the expression discloses no reasonable cause of action or defence . He said: In point of law ... every cause of action is a reasonable one. (See Republic of Peru v. Peruvian Guano Co.') A reasonable cause of action is said to mean a cause of action with some chances of success when only the allegations in the pleading are considered. But so long as the claim discloses some cause of action or raises some questions fit to be decided by a Judge, the mere fact that the case is weak and not likely to succeed is no ground for striking it out. The implications of the liability of the pleadings to be struck out on the ground 1 (1887) 36 Ch D 489 that it discloses no reasonable cause of action are quite often more known than clearly understood. It does introduce another special demurrer in a new shape. The failure of the pleadings to disclose a reasonable cause of action is distinct from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urprises, and incidentally to reduce costs. This function has been variously stated, namely either to limit the generality of the allegations in the pleadings, or to define the issues which have to be tried and for which discovery is required. (See: Pleadings Vol. 36, para 38) 2 (1936) 1 KB 697 :(1936) 1 All ER 287 15. In Bullen and Leake and Jacob's Precedents of Pleadings 1975 Edn. at p. 1 12 it is stated: The function of particulars is to carry into operation the overriding principle that the litigation between the parties, and particularly the trial, should be conducted fairly, openly and without surprises and incidentally to save costs. The object of particulars is to 'open up' the case of the opposite party and to compel him to reveal as much as possible what is going to be proved at the trial, whereas, as Cotton L.J. has said, 'the old system of pleading at common law was to conceal as much as possible what was going to be proved at the trial'. 16. The distinction between 'material facts' and 'particulars' which together constitute the facts to be proved or the facta probanda on the one hand and the evidence by which those ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f proving the allegations. 21. In Sahodrabai Rai v. Ram Singh Aharwar5 this Court observed: We have already pointed out that Section 81(3) speaks only of the election petition. Pausing here, we would say that since the election petition itself reproduced the whole of the pamphlet in a translation in English, it could be said that the averments with regard to the pamphlet were themselves a part of the petition and therefore the pamphlet was served upon the respondents although in a translation and not in original. Even if this be not the case, we are quite clear that sub- section (2) of Section 83 has reference not to a document which is produced as evidence of the averments of the election petition but to averments of the election petition which are put, not in the election petition but in the accompanying schedules or annexures. (emphasis supplied) 22. 1 p U.S. Sasidharan v. K. Karunakaran6 the distinction is brought out: (SCC p. 489, paras 15-16) The material facts or particulars relating to any corrupt practice may be contained in a document and the election petitioner, without pleading the material facts or particulars of corrupt practice, may refer to the document ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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