Supreme Court of India allows private citizens to challenge false election affidavits

The Supreme Court of India has ruled that private citizens, including voters, have the right to file criminal complaints against election candidates who provide false information or conceal details in their nomination affidavits.

In a judgment authored by Justice Dipankar Datta and delivered alongside Justice Sheel Nagu, the Court clarified that Section 125A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, is not restricted by Section 195(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. While Section 195(1) typically requires a public servant to initiate certain criminal proceedings, the Court noted that Section 125A was not included in the list of offences requiring such a restriction when the Code of Criminal Procedure was amended in 2006. The Bench interpreted this omission as a deliberate legislative decision.

The ruling sets aside a previous reasoning from the Karnataka High Court which suggested that only the Election Commission or a public servant could initiate such cases. However, in the specific case of Dr. Shailendra Beldale, the Court upheld the quashing of the complaint against him due to existing documents that rebutted the charges.