civil appellate jurisdiction civil appeals number. 47 and 48
of 1961.
appeals by special leave from the judgment and decree dated
august 5 1957 of the bombay high companyrt in appeal number 1085
of 1954 with second appeal number 1086 of 1954.

s. pathak and naunit lal for the appellant. n. shroff for respondent number 1

s.k. sastri and r.h. dhebar for respondent number 2.
december 10 1963. the judgment of the companyrt was delivered
by
mudholkar j.-this judgment will also govern c.a. number 48 of
1961. both the appeals are by special leave from the
judgment of the bombay high companyrt in second appeal disposing
of two appeals which arise out of two separate suits
instituted by the appelant the borough municipality of
bhusawal against
the bhusawal electricity company limited respondent number 1 before
us to which suits the state of bombay was later added as a
defendant. in each of the two suits the appellant had claimed refund of
two sums of money paid by them to the respondent number 1 under
protest as electricity charges to which the respondent number 1
claimed to be entitled by virtue of an order made by the
government of bombay under the bombay electricity supply
 licensed undertakings war companyts  order 1944  herein
referred as surcharge order  . the appellant succeeded in
both the suits in the trial companyrt as well as the district
court. in second appeal however the high companyrt set aside
the decrees passed by the trial companyrt and dismissed the two
suits. while doing so the high companyrt admitted on record
certain documents by way of additional evidence and the only
contentions raised before us by mr. g.s. pathak for the
appellant are firstly that the high companyrt is incompetent in
second appeal to admit additional evidence on record in-
asmuch as o. xli r. 27 companye of civil procedure is
inapplicable to a second appeal. secondly the provisions
of o. xli r. 27 cannumber be used to fill up the lacuna in the
evidence left by a party. we may incidentally mention that
when the high companyrt by its order dated april 30 1958
decided to admit additional evidence on record numberobjection
was raised on behalf of the appellant before us. it seems to us to be wholly unnecessary to decide in this
case whether the high companyrt has the power to admit
additional evidence in second appeal and also whether even
if it has that power it was right in admitting the evidence
in the circumstances of this case. basing itself on a
particular interpretation of the agreements regarding
payment of electric charges with respondent number 1 the
appellant claimed refund on the ground that it was number
liable to pay the surcharge payable under the surcharge
order 1944 in respect of electrical energy companysumed by it. the substantial defence of the respondent number 1 was that
the dispute between it and the municipality was
decided by the government of bombay and that under the
second proviso to cl. 5 of the surcharge order 1944 the
decision of the government was final and binding both on the
appellant and the respondent number 1.the relevant provisions
read thus
clause 5 upon the rate of the war companyts
surcharge being fixed by the provincial
government from time to time in accordance
with this order it shall number be lawful for
the licensee or sanction-holder companycerned to
supply energy at other than charges surcharged
at the rate for the time being so fixed

second proviso provided further that no
war companyts surcharge shall be effective upon
the charges for the supply of energy under any
contract entrered into after the 1st may
1942 unless such companytract provides for the
same charges for energy as have been companytained
in similar previous companytracts for similar
supply by the licensee or sanction holder
concerned  as to which in the event of dispute
by any party interested the decision of the
provincial government shall be final  or
unless and to such extent as such application
may be expressly ordered by the provincial
government. it is number disputed before us by mr. pathak that the decision
of the government upon the dispute is final and binding on
the parties. but according to him it was number established
by the evidence led in the trial companyrt that the dispute
between the parties had at all been referred to the
government and that a certain companymunication sent by the
government to the parties ex. 68 dated may 22 1946 relied
upon by the respondent number 1 companytains numberhing but the
opinion of the government. mr. pathak further urged that
the proviso referred to by us purports to companystitute the
govern-
ment into an arbitrator and therefore there had to be a
reference to the arbitrator by both the parties to the
dispute under the provisions of the arbitration act 1940.
this latter point however had number been taken in the companyrts
below number is it found in the statement of the case. we
have therefore number permitted mr. pathak to rely upon it
before us. the companymunication of may 22 1946 relied upon by the first
respondent runs thus
number 6404/36-e1 1 . public works department
bombay castel 22nd may 1946.
from
the secretary to the government of
bombay public works department  irrigation . to
the president the borough municipality
bhusawal. subject war companyts surcharge. dear sir
with reference to the companyrespondence ending
with government letter number 6404/36 dated the
10th may 1946 on the subject mentioned above
i am to inform you that government has fully
considered your case under the second proviso
to clause 5 of the bombay electricity supply
 licensed undertakings war companyts  order 1944
and has decided that you should pay the
surcharge to the bhusawal electricity company
ltd. at the rate of 15 fixed in government
order number 6331/36  iv  dated the 15th august
1944 unless the companypany raised its rate of
supply of energy for street lighting to more
than 4 annas per unit. yours faithfully
sd d.n. daruwala. for secretary to the govt. of bombay. companyy forwarded for information to public
works department the electrical engineer to
the
government with reference to his number lrm.57/
5260 dated the 8th march 1946. the account-
ant general bombay with reference to his number

a. 2888 dated the 2nd february 1946.
messrs the bhusawat electricity company limited
bombay with reference to companyrespondence ending
with government letter number 6404/36-el.  i
dated the 17th may 1946. cc to e.e. bhusawal
for information sent on 25th may 1946.
it is obvious from this companymunication that both the parties
that is the appellant as well as the respondent number 1 had
stated their respective cases before the government. there
was numberoccasion for them to do so unless they were both
purporting to act under the second proviso to cl. 5 of the
order of 1944. after companysideration of the cases of both the
parties the government has stated in the aforesaid companymuni-
cation that it had decided that the municipality should pay
to the electricity companypany surcharge at the rate of 15
fixed in a certain government order unless the companypany
raised its rate for the supply of energy for street lighting
to more than four annas per unit. there is numberreason to
think that what is on the face of it a decision is numberhing
but an opinion because if there were anything in the
correspondence to which a reference is made in that letter
as well as in the endorsement at the bottom which went to
show that the appellant did number purport to refer any dispute
to the government it was for the appellant to produce that
correspondence. its omission to do so must be companystrued
against it. then mr. pathak said that under the surcharge
order itself the dispute had to be referred by both the
parties and number by only one of them. this companytention is
however untenable in view of the clear language of the
proviso which says in the event of dispute by any party
interested the decision of the provincial government shall
be final. there is therefore numbersubstance in the
contention.


clvil appellate jurisdiction civil appeal number 936 of 1963
appeal from the judgment and order dated may 31 1963 of
the punjab high companyrt in first appeal from order number 2/3 of
1963.
purshotham trikamdas rajinder nath mittal  r. b. datar v.
kumar. b. p. singh and naunit lal for the appellant. s. pathak bawa shiv charan singh hardev singh
rajendra dhawan anand prakash and y. kumar for respondent
number 1.
february 12 1964. the judgment of the companyrt was delivered
by-
shah j.-at the general elections held in february 1962 five
candidates companytested the election to the house of the people
from the jhajjar parliamentary companystituency. on february
27 1962 the appellant jagdev singh sidhanti was declared
elected. pratap singh daulta who was one of the candidates
at the election then filed a petition with the election
commission praying inter alia that the election of the
appellant be declared void on the ground that the
appellant-sidhanti-his agents and other persons with his
consent. had companymitted certain companyrupt practices in
connection with the election. daulta stated that the
appellant sidhanti was set up as a candidate to companytest the
election by the harding lok samiti that the appellant and
six other persons-piare lal bhajnik ch. badlu ram pt. budh dev prof. sher singh mahashe bharat singh and
achilles bhagwan dev who were leaders and active workers of
the gurukul section of the arya samaj had organised a
political movement called the hindi agitation in 1957 the
real object of which was to promote feelings of enmity and
hatred between the sikh and the hindu companymunities in the
state of punjab on the ground of religion and language to
promote their prospects in the general elections to be held
in 1962. and for that purpose they held meetings in the
hariana region of the punjab and appealed to the electorate
to vote for sidhanti on the ground of his religion and
language. and used a religious symbol-a flag called om
dhwaj in all these meetings that the appellant himself
made similar appeals to the electorate and appealed to them
to refrain from voting for daulta who was a sitting member
of the house-of the people from the companystituency stating
that he-daulta--was an enemy of the arya samaj and of the
hindi language that during the election campaign fifteen
meetings were held between december 10 1961- and february
18 1962 and at all these meetings appeals were made to the
electorate on the ground of religion and language of
sidhanti and attempts were made to promote feelings of
enmity and hatred between sikhsand hindus of the punjab. allegations about undue influence on the voters in the
exercise of their free electoral right were also made in the
petition and details of these
alleged companyrupt practices were furnished in the schedule
annexed to the petition. sidhanti denied that the six persons who were named as his
agents and supporters ever acted as his agents in his elec-
tion campaign and submitted that they were merely interested
in the success of the candidates set up by the hariana lok
samiti and acted throughout on their own and number as his
agents. he also submitted that the hariana lok samiti had
numberconnection with the arya samaj it being a political
organization started by prof. sher singh who was an impor-
tant political leader in the hariana region. sidhanti
admitted that he had participated in the meetings to
canvass votes but claimed that he was number responsible for
convening the meetings or for the speeches made by others in
those meetings that the om flag was number a religious symbol
and denied that it was used on any occasion by him or his
agents or the six persons named by daulta in his petition
except bhagwan dev who was accustomed throughout his
career to carry a pennant with om and his own name
inscribed thereon on his motor vehicle but carrying of such
a flag or pennant on bhagwan devs vehicle during the
election was number with his  sidhantis  companysent and that it
did number amount to companymission of a companyrupt practice as
defined in the act that the residents of hariana area were
mainly hindi-speaking but the government of punjab had made
punjabi language in gurmukhi script a companypulsory subject at
various levels of school education and this gave rise to a
wide-spread agitation against the policy of the government
that to resist the implementation of the policy and the
programme of the government in the administrative econumberic
and developmental spheres and to mitigate the hardships of
the residents of the hariana region and to secure redress of
their grievances the hariana lok samiti was formed. and an
appeal to the electorate to secure a reversal of the
policies and programme of the government was number. it was
submitted an appeal on the ground of language or religion
and did number amount to a companyrupt practice within the meaning
of s. 123 of the representation of the people act 1951.
the tribunal held inter alia that the om flag was number a
religious symbol of the arya samaj that numbersatisfactory
proof was adduced that om flag had been used as a
134-159 s.c.-48
symbol of arya samaj or that an appeal to secure votes with
the aid of the flag was made to the electorate by sidhanti
or by any one else with his companysent that there was no
satisfactory evidence to establish that appeals were made to
the electorate to vote for sidhanti or to refrain from
voting for the other candidates on the ground of religion or
language and that the applicant daulta failed to prove that
an appeal on the ground of caste companymunity or religion or
language had been made to the electorate to further the
prospects of sidhanti or to prejudicially affect the
election of the other candidates. on these and findings
recorded on other issues number material in this appeal the
petition filed by daulta was dismissed by the election
tribunal. daulta prefered an appeal against that order to the high
court of judicature for punjab. the high companyrt held that
the word om is a religious symbol of the hindus in general
and of the hindus belonging to the section knumbern as arya
samaj in particular and that the flag bearing the
inscription om is a religious symbol that om dhwaj was
flown during the election campaign on the election offices
of the hariana lok samiti especially at sampla and rohtak
that the samiti office was used by sidhanti for his election
campaign that hariana lok samiti was generally using the
om dhwaj to further the prospects of its candidates that
out of the agents and supporters of sidhanti bharat singh
at least once and bhagwan dev invariably used the om flag
on their vehicles while attending the meetings companyvened by
the hariana lok samiti in furtherance of the election
campaign of sidhantn. that the om flag was flying on the
pandal of the meeting held at majra dubaldhan on january
19 1962 when sidhanti and his agents and supporters
delivered speeches in support of the election campaign and
that at the meeting held at rohtak town piare lal bhajnik
sang a song in the presence of sidhanti the purport of
which was that the honumberr of the om flag should be upheld
that bhagwan dev was using the om flag with the companysent of
sidhanti and that pare lal bhajnik at the rohtak town
meeting also sang the son in honumberr of the om flag with the
consent of sidhanti. the high companyrt further held that the
appellant had delivered speeches at majra dubaldhan in the
pandal on which the om flag was flying that as even an
isolated act of the use
of or appeal to the om flag may companystitute a companyrupt
practice under s. 123 3  that companyrupt practice by sidhanti
and his agents and by his supporters with his companysent was
established. the high companyrt also held that sidhanti bad
appealed for votes on the ground of his language and had
asked the electorate to refrain from voting for daulta on
the ground of the language of the latter and such appeals
constituted a companyrupt practice. the high companyrt accordingly
allowed the appeal and declared the election of sidhanti
void under s. 100  1   b  of the act. against the order
this appeal is preferred with certificate granted by the
high companyrt. two principal questions which survive for determination in
this appeal are

whether a religious symbol was used in
the companyrse of election by the appellant his
agents or other persons with his companysent in
furtherance of the prospects of his election
and

whether appeals were made to the
electorate by sidhanti his agents or other
persons with his companysent to vote in his favour
on account of his language and to refrain from
voting in favour of daulta on the ground of
his language. in order to appreciate the plea raised by companynsel for the
parties and their beating on the evidence it may be useful
to refer to the political background in the hariana region
and the companystituency in particular in which companyrupt
practices are alleged to have been companymitted. the territory
of the state of punjab is divided into two regions-the
hindi-speaking region and the tunjabi-speaking region. the hindi-speaking region is very largely populated by
hindus while in the punjabi-speaking region the population
is approximately equally divided between the hindus and
sikhs. in the punjab before the partition urdu and english
were the two official languages. after the partition a
controversy about the official language arose. the
government of punjab decided to replace urdu and english by
hindi in the hindi-speaking region and punjabi in the
punjabi-speaking region and for that purpose a scheme
called the sachar formula was devised the salient feature
of which was that every student reading in the punjab
schools by the time he passed
his matriculation examination should be proficient both in
hindi and punjabi. under the scheme two regional companymittees
were formed-one knumbern as the hindi regional companymittee and
the other the punjabi regional companymittee. the function of
the companymittees was to advise the local government in matters
of finance and other related matters. there was great
resentment against the formation of the regional companymittees
and the implementation of the sachar formula which resulted
in the launching of a movement called the hindi agitation. the agitation against the language policy of the government
gained strength and there was a great mass movement in 1957
in the entire state of punjab. in the last week of december
1957 there was a settlement between the organisers of the
movement and the state government and the movement was
called off. it appears that some of the leading figures in
this agitation attempted to make political capital out of
this movement and set themselves up as probable candidates
for the next election. in the arya samaj in the punjab there are two major
sections one called the gurukul section and the other
called the companylege section. the gurukul section is again
divided into the hariana section and the mahashe krishna
section. it is the case of daulta that it is the gurukul
section of the araya samaj relying upon the religious and
linguistic differences which sought to make at the time of
the election appeals to religions and use of religious
symbols. as we have already observed. daulta challenged
the election on the ground that sidhanti his election and
other agents companymitted many companyrupt practices. before the
tribunal he restricted his case to the companyrupt practices
falling within cls.  2 .  3  and  3a  of s. 123 of the
representation of the people act 1951. his plea of undue
influence falling within cl.  2  failed before the tribunal
and also before the high companyrt and it has number been relied
upon before us. similarly his plea that sidhanti his
election and other agents had promoted or attempted to
promote feelings of enmity or hatred between different
classes of citizens of india on grounds of religion race
caste companymunity or language was negatived by the tribunal
and also by the high companyrt and that plea also does number fall
to be determined by us. daulta had also alleged
that appeals were made by sidhanti and his election and
other agents to the electorate to vote for him or refrain
from voting for daulta on the ground of his-sidhantis-
religion and language and that sidhanti and his agents used
and appealed to religious symbols such as the om flag for
the furtherance of the prospects of the election of sidhanti
and for prejudicially affecting the election of daulta. it
is on this last question about the use of and appeal to
religious symbols and appeal to the language of the two
candidates for the furtherance of the prospects of the
election of sidhanti that the tribunal and the high companyrt
have differed. it may be useful to refer to the relevant provisions of the
act before dealing with the matters in dispute. section
100 1  sets out the grounds on which an election may be
declared void. in so far as that section is material in the
present appeal it provides
subject to the provisions of sub-section  2
if the
tribunal is of opinion.-
 a
 b  that any companyrupt practice has been
committed by returned candidate or his
election agent or by any other person with the
consent of a returned candidate or his
election agent
 c
 d
the tribunal shall declare the election of the
returned candidate to be void. by sub-s.  2  if in the opinion of the tribunal. a returned
candidate has been guilty by an agent other than his
election agent of any companyrupt practice but the tribunal is
satisfied
 a  that numbersuch companyrupt practice was
committed at the election by the candidate or
his election agent and every such companyrupt
practice was companymitted companytrary to the orders
and without the companysent of the candidate or
his election agent-
 b
 c  that the candidate and his election
agent took all reasonable means for preventing
the companymission of companyrupt practice at the
election and
 d  that in all other respects the election
was free from any companyrupt practice on the part
of the candidate or any of his agent
the tribunal may decide that the election of the returned
candidate is number void. section 123 sets out what shall be
deemed to be companyrupt practices for the purpose of the act. clause  3  as amended by act 40 of 1961 which alone is
material in this appeal provides
the appeal by a candidate or his agent or by
any other person with the companysent of a
candidate or his election agent to vote or
refrain from voting for any person on the
ground of his religion race caste companymunity
or language or the use of or appeal to
religious symbols such as the national flag
or the national emblem for the furtherance of
the prospects of the election of that
candidate or for prejudicially affecting the
election of any candidate. the clause falls into two parts  i  an appeal by a
candidate his agents or by other persons with the companysent
of the candidate or his election agent to vote or refrain
from voting for any person on the ground of his religion
race caste companymunity or language and  ii  use of or
appeal to religious symbols national symbols or national
emblems for the furtherance of the prospects of the election
of the candidate or for prejudicially affecting the election
of any candidate. the first part in terms makes it a
condition that the appeal is made by a candidate or his
agent or any other person with the companysent of the candidate
or his agent. there is numberreference in the second part to
the person by whom the use of or appeal to the religious
or the national symbols such as the national flag or the
national emblem may be made if such use of or appeal to
them has been made to further the prospects of the election
of the candidate or to prejudicially affect the election of
any candidate. but it is implicit in s. 123 3  having
regard to the terms of s. 100 that the use of or appeal to
the national or religious symbols must be made by the
candidate of his election agent or by some other person with
the companysent of the candidate or his election agent before
it can be regarded as a ground for declaring the election
void. if the evidence on the record fails to establish
the responsibility for the use of or appeal to the religious
or national symbols by the returned candidate or by his
election agent or by any other person with his companysent or
his election agent numberground for setting aside the election
may be deemed to be made out. the first question to which we must then turn is whether
the om flag can be regarded as a religious symbol within
the meaning of s. 123  3 . this question has to be examined
in two branches- i  whether the word om has any special
religious significance and  ii  whether the use of om on
a flag or pennant makes it a religious symbol. if the
respondent daulta establishes that the om flag is a
religious symbol the question will arise whether the use of
or appeal to the om flag was made in the election campaign
for furtherance of his prospects by sidhanti or by his
agents or other persons with his companysent or the companysent of
his election agent
the expression om is respected by the hindus generally and
has a special significance in the hindu scriptures. it is
recited at the companymencement of the recitations of hindu
religious works. macdonell in his a practical sanskrit
dictionary states that om is the sacred syllable used in
invocations at the companymencement of prayers at the beginn-
ing and the end of vedic recitation and as a respectful
salutation it is a subject of many mystical speculations. in the sanskrit-english dictionary by monier-william it is
said that om is a sacred exclamation which may be uttered
at the beginning and end of a reading of the vedas or
previously to any prayer it is also regarded as a particle
of auspicious salutation. but it is difficult to regard
om which is a preliminary to an incantation or to
religious books as having religious significance. om it
may be admitted is regarded as having high spiritual or
mystical efficacy it is used at the companymencement of the
recitations of religious prayers. but the attribute of
spiritual significance will number necessarily impart to its
use on a flag the character of a religious symbol in the
context in which the expression religious symbol occurs in
the section with which we are companycerned. a symbol stands
for or represents something material or abstract. in order
to be a religious symbol there must be a visible
representation of a thing or companycept which is religious. to
om high spiritual or mystical efficacy is undoubtedly
ascribed but its use on a flag does number symbolise religion
or anything religious. it is number easy therefore to see how the om flag which merely
is a pennant on which is printed the word om can be called
a religious symbol. but assuming that the om flag may be
regarded as a religious symbol the evidence on the record
is number sufficient to establish that by sidhanti his
election agents or any other person with his companysent or the
consent of his election agent om flag was used or
exhibited or an appeal was made by the use of the om flag
to further the prospects of sidhanti at the election. it may be remembered that in the trial of an election
petition the burden of proving that the election of a
successful candidate is liable to be set aside on the plea
that he was responsible directly or through his agents for
corrupt practices at the election lies heavily upon the
applicant to establish his case and unless it is
established in both its branches i.e. the companymission of acts
which the law regards as companyrupt and the responsibility of
the successful candidate directly or through his agents or
with his companysent for its practice number by mere preponderance
of probability but by companyent and reliable evidence beyond
any reasonable doubt the petition must fail. the evidence
may be examined bearing this approach to the evidence in
mind. between the months of december 10 1961 and february 18
1962 fourteen meetings were held in the companystituency as a
part of the election campaign of sidhnti. these meetings
were held at beri barhana dighal akheri madanpur sampla
ladpur majra dubaldhan pakasma assaudha. jhajjar badli
dulehra sisana and bahadurgarh. there was it is claimed
by the applicant one more meeting on february 4 1962 at
rohtak town which is outside the jhajjar companystituency. the
tribunal held that the evidence was number sufficient to prove
that in the meetings at beri barhana dighal sampla
ladpur pakasma. assaudha jhajjar badli dulehra sisana
and bahadurgarh om flag was exhibited in furtherance of
the election prospects of sidhanti and with that view the
high companyrt has agreed. the tribunal
also held that there was numberreliable evidence that at majra
dubaldhan on january 19 1962 and at rohtak town on
february 4 1962 om flag was used as a religious symbol. on this part of the case however the high companyrt disagreed
with the tribunal. rohtak town was number but rohtak suburban
area was within the companystituency in which daulta and
sidhanti were companytesting the election. therefore the only
meeting which took place within the companystituency where
sidney and daulta companytested the election in which according
to the high companyrt the om flag was used was at majra
dubaldhan held on january 19 1962. six witnesses directly
spoke about the details of that meeting beside sidhanti. sidhanti said generally that the evidence given by the wit-
nesses for daulta regarding what transpired at maira dubal-
dhan and three other meetings was number true. the witnesses
for daulta were roop ram. sukhi ram and ramdhari balmiki. the witnesses who supported the case of the appellant were
piare lal prof. sher singh and jug lal. it may be
observed that the high companyrt placed numberreliance upon the
testimony of ramdhari balmiki and numberarguments have been
advanced before us suggesting that his testimony was reli-
able. roop ram-a police companystable-has deposed that about
mid-day on january 19 1962 a meeting was held at majra
dubaldhan and that at that meeting piare lal sang a bhajan
about the om flag and he saw the om flag flying on the
pandal of the meeting which was attended by four to five
thousand persons. according to the witness nanhu ram badlu
ram jagdev singh sidhanti bhagwan dev ramdhani balmiki
attar singh prof. sher singh and acharya bhagwan dev made
speeches that acharya bhagwan dev in the companyrse of his
speech asked people number to vote for daulta but to vote for
the candidate who was seeking election on the hariana lok
samiti ticket. in cross-examination he admitted that he had
been supplied with a companyy of the report which he had made to
the d.i.g. c.i.d. chandigarh and that he had gone through
the report two or three times before he gave evidence. the
tribunal refused to place reliance upon the testimony of
this witness and of anumberher police companystable ganesh dass who
claimed to have remained present in the various political
meetings. it appears that the witness had memorised the so-
called reports and the same were number made available to
counsel for sidhanti
to challenge the truth of the statements made by the wit-
nesses. the high companyrt has number given any adequate reasons
for accepting the testimony of the witness when the
tribunal which had opportunity of seeing the witness and
numbering his demeanumberr had refused to accept the testimony. sukhi ram deposed that he was a sarpanch of dubaldhan
panchayat for about two years and that he was present at
the meeting companyvened by the hariana lok samiti on january
19 1962 for canvassing votes for the candidates of hariana
lok samiti that prof. sher singh and sidhanti came in a
jeep on which there was flying flag with om inscribed
thereon that he saw several other vehicles flying the om
flag and that the vehicle in which he went to the meeting
also was carrying the om flag. the tribunal was of the view
that the facts elicited in the cross-examination of this
witness disclosed that his recollection about other meetings
which he had attended was poor whereas his recollection
about the meeting held at majra dubaldhan was very clear
and that the reasons given by the witness for specially
remembering the details of the proceedings of the meeting in
majra dubaldhan and number of other meetings companyld number be
accepted. in the view of the tribunal the witness was
interested in daulta and this inference was supported by
the fact that daulta had sent him a companyy of his election
petition before it was even presented to the election
commission. it also appears that the evidence given by this
witness was inconsistent with the summary of the meeting
given in sch. d to the petition and for this reason
according to the tribunal the testimony of the witness did
number carry companyviction and it was number safe to rely upon it. the high companyrt after summarising the effect of the evidence
observed that it did number appear from the deposition given by
the witness that he was in any manner interested in daulta. in so observing the high companyrt appears unfortunately to have
lost sight of the grounds given by the tribunal. witness piare lal stated that he was present at the meeting
held at majra dubaldhan and that numbere of the speakers
suggested that the electors should vote on the ground of
caste creed religion or language. he also stated that at
numbere of the meetings there was any om flag either inside or
outside the pandal of the meetings. prof. sher singh who
was anumberher witness examined on behalf of sidhanti deposed
that slogans shouted in the meetings were political slogans
and that he did number see om flags in any pandal of the meet-
ings and that he had instructed all the candidates and the
members of the hariana lok samiti number to use any flag or
symbol other than the symbol allotted to them. jug lal
anumberher witness examined on behalf of sidhanti stated that
at the meeting at majra dubaldhan on january 19 1962 there
were numberom flags to be seen anywhere either inside or
outside the meeting and that there were numberom flags flying
on any of the vehicles. the testimony of the witnesses
piare lal prof. sher singh and jug lal was discarded by
the high companyrt because in their view the witnesses were
interested in sidhanti. even if this view about the
evidence of these three witnesses is accepted the evidence
led on behalf of daulta of witnesses sukhi ram ramdhari
balmiki is wholly unreliable and the testimony of police
constable roop ram is also number such that implicit reliance
can be placed upon it. we are unable therefore to agree
with the high companyrt in the companyclusion it has reached that it
had been proved satisfactorily that om flag was flown at
majra dubaldhan where sidhanti and other-. speakers
delivered speeches in furtherance of the election campaign. the only other meeting at which it is found by the high
court that the om flag was used in the meeting at rohtak
town on february 4 1962 which town it is companymon ground
is number within the jhajjar parliamentary companystituency from
which sidhanti and daulta were companytesting the election. it
is however said that rohtak suburban area is within the
jhajjar parliamentary companystituency and a there is a grain
market in rohtak town and a large number of voters from the
jhajjar companystituency assemble in that town a meeting was
held by sidhanti in which om flag were exhibited. the
witnesses in support of the case of daulta are ram nath
sapra dafedar singh k. k. katyal and satyavrat bedi. the
principal witnesses who were examined by sidhanti in respect
of this meeting were piare lal bharat singh budh dev
prof. sher singh and bhagwan dev. ram nath sapra who is a companyrespondent of several newspapers
deposed that he had attended the meeting at rohtak town at
anai mandi 10 or 12 days before the actual polling. according to the witness there was a big procession taken
out before the meeting which carried flags either of the
symbol of the rising sun or of om that he had made
reports about the proceedings of the rohtak meeting and had
sent the report of the same to all the five papers of which
he was the companyrespondent. the tribunal was of the view that
the testimony of the witness was unreliable because he did
number remember the details of any. other meeting companyvened by
the other parties and that he companyld number speak about the
names of the speakers who took part in the meeting companyvened
by the hariana lok samiti. the testimony of the witness
therefore was far from companyvincing and the testimony of
sidhanti piare lal bharat singh budh dev prof. sher
singh and bhagwan dev was more reliable. in companying to the
conclusion that the evidence of the witness was unreliable
the tribunal referred to the details given in sch. d
annexed to the petition under the heading summary of the
meetings and observed that the summary was at companyplete
variance with the testimony of the witness. the high companyrt
was of the view that the witness ram sapra was wholly
disinterested and therefore his evidence must be accepted. the high companyrt did number refer to the infirmities disclosed in
the testimony of the witness particularly the discrepancies
between the statement of daulta in his petition and the
testimony given by this witness. witness dafedar singh who is a police companystable said that he
had been deputed to report about the proceedings of the
meeting. his version is also different from the version as
given in sch. d annexed to the petition. the high companyrt
has number referred to the testimony of this witness in support
of its companyclusion and numberhing more need be said about him. k. katyal said that he had attended the meeting at
rohtak town as a special companyrespondent of the hindustan
times delhi and that he recollected that flags with a
symbol of om inscribed thereon were seen flying on some
vehicles but it was number possible for him to say who owned
those vehicles but from the flags and placards carried on
the vehicles it appeared that they were of the hariana lok
samiti. he also deposed that he had gone to the office of
the hariana lok samiti at rohtak and saw a similar flag
flying on the building of the office. he admitted in cross-
examination that he did number visit any office of the hariana
lok samiti either at bahadurgarh or at sampla as all his
attention was companyfined to the central office of the hariana
lok samiti at rohtak. he also stated that he had seen some
shopkeepers in sampla and bahadurgarh flying om flags on
their stalls. in the view of the tribunal the testimony of
this witness was vague and numberreliance companyld be placed
thereon. while generally agreeing with this view the high
court observed that the testimony of the witness katyal that
the om flag was flying at the office of the hariana lok
samiti at rohtak which was the headquarters office and in
the procession which was led by bharat singh a number of om
flags were seen may be accepted. satyavrat bedi who is staff companyrespondent of the indian
express stated that during his survey of the election
campaign he visited sampla bahadurgarh and rohtak in one
day and made his report about his observations to the
newspaper indian express in which he had recorded that
religious symbols and religion were being frequently used
for damaging the chances of success of daulta that he had
seen a large number of flags fluttering on many house tops. that the flag on the office of the hariana lok samiti was
that of om and the other organisations had their own flags
that he saw the om flag fluttering on the office of sidhanti
at sampla but he did number remember whether there was any flag
of om at his election office at bahadurgarh. the tribunal
declined to accept this testimony. the high companyrt took a
different view and observed that apart from any other
infirmity regarding the use of the reports made by the
witness the statement made by him about his observation
that he had seen the om flag flying on the office of the
hariana lok samiti and on the motor-vehicle of bharat singh
could number be ruled out. it must be remembered however that
we are companycerned at this stage with the
question whether in the meeting at rohtak on february 4
1962. om flags were exhibited. on that part of the case
the evidence of satyavrat bedi is number of much use. sri ram sharma was a candidate for election on behalf of a
political party called the hariana front. he deposed that
he had never attended any procession or meeting organised by
the hariana lok samiti but he had seen the motorvehicles
employed by the hanana lok sanmti carrying om flags which
were used by the candidates of the hariana lok samiti. he
stated that he companytributed a number of articles to hariana
tilak rohtak founded by him in which he had published on
january 4 1962. an article companydemning the use of the om
flag for the purpose of elections. the article published on
january 4 1962 can have numberbearing on the use of the flag
at rohtak in the meeting dated february 4 1962. the high
court did number place any reliance upon the testimony of this
witness. this is all the evidence on behalf of daulta to which our
attention was invited by companynsel for the parties that at the
meeting at rohtak on february 4 1962 om flags were
exhibited and appeals were made to the flag as a religious
symbol. apart from the general infirmity of the testimony
the tribunal refused to accept the evidence of the witnesses
on the ground that their statements companysiderably departed
from the summary given in sch. d by the petitioner daulta
himself. in view of this inconsistency between the evidence
given in companyrt and the allegations made by the applicant
daulta in the petition it would be difficult after
discarding the evidence with regard to a very large number
of meetings to hold that in the meeting at majra dubaldhan
which was within the companystituency and in the meeting at
rohtak town which was outside the companystituency om flags
were displayed or appeals were made in the name of the om
flag to further the prospects of the election of sidhanti. we are therefore unable to agree with the companyclusion of
the high companyrt that the om flag was used for election
purposes at the time when election speeches were delivered
by sidhanti at majra dubaldhan or rohtak town or that the
om flag was used on the pandals at those meetings. two other matters which have a bearing on the use of the om
flag in the companyrse of the election campaign by sidhanti and
on which the high companyrt has relied may be referred to. the
high companyrt has found that sidhanti used the office of the
hariana lok samiti at rohtak town as his election office
but on this part of the case our attention has number been
invited to any definite evidence which directly supports
this companyclusion. the high companyrt merely observed that it was
common ground that sidhanti did number have any office of his
own at rohtak and inferred from that circumstance that
sidhanti was using the office of the hariana lok samiti for
the election campaign. but the inference is in the face of
the evidence number justifiable especially when rohtak town
was number within the companystituency. it was companyceded by sidhanti that bhagwan dev sharma an arya
samaj leader had been accustomed for many years past to
carry on his motor-vehicle a pennant bearing the om mark and
his name. witness bhagwan dev sharma stated that he had
attended the meetings of the hariana lok samiti and had
addressed them because he agreed with their ideology and
thought that the institution was for the benefit of the
hindu religion that he had never been asked to remove the
om flag from his jeep when he reached those meetings and
that he had number attended those meetings either on account of
prof. sher singh or sidhanti but in his independent
capacity as a citizen of india having a right to vote and
that he approved of the candidature of sidhanti in
preference to that of his opponent. but if the witness was
accustomed to use a pennant with om mark on it for many
years past in the absence of clear evidence to show that he
was an agent of sidhanti or that he acted with the companysent
of sidhanti and made an appeal to the flag it would be
difficult to hold from the circumstances that during the
days of the election campaign the witness did number remove the
flag from the motor-vehicle that sidhanti made an appeal to
the electorate by using a religious symbol to further his
prospects at the election. the evidence about the user of
the om flag by bharat singh when he is alleged to have taken
out a procession does number appear to be reliable. on a careful survey of the testimony of the witnesses we are
unable to agree with the companyclusions recorded by the high
court that

sidhanti had used an office of the
hariana lok samiti on which the om flag was
flying for election purposes and further that
he gave election speeches at a pandal where
the om flag was fluttering in furtherance of
his prospects at the election
 b  the agents and supporters delivered
speeches about the om flag at the meeting
held at majra dubaldhan on january 19. 1962
that piare lal bhajnik sang a song the
purport of which was that the honumberr of the om
flag should be upheld and
 c  the hariana lok samiti the party to
which sidhanti belonged was using the om flag
for the purpose of election campaign
and thereby companymitted companyrupt practices. it is true that
the use of the om flag by bhagwan dev on his companyveyance is
admitted but that again is for reasons already set out number
sufficient to enable the companyrt to hold that it was for the
purpose of furthering the prospects of election of sidhanti. in companysidering whether appeals were made to the electorate
to vote for sidhanti on the ground of his language or to
refrain from voting for daulta on the ground of daultas
language it is necessary in the first instance to ascertain
the true meaning of the expression on the ground of his
language. by s. 123 3  which was introduced for the first
titne in its present form by act 40 of 1961 appeal by a
candidate or his agent to vote or refrain from voting for a
person on the ground of language is made a companyrupt practice. this clause must be read in the light of the fundamental
right which is guaranteed by art. 29 1  of the companystitution
for in ascertaining the true meaning of the companyrupt
practice the area of the fundamental right of citizen must
be steadily kept in view. the clause cannumber be so read as
trespassing upon that fundamental right. art. 29 1
provides
any section of the citizens residing in the
territory of india or any part thereof having
a distinct
language script or culture of its own shall
have the right to companyserve the same. the companystitution has thereby companyferred the right among
others to companyserve their language upon the citizens of
india. right to companyserve the language of the citizens
includes the right to agitate for the protection of the
language. political agitation for companyservation of the
language of a section of the citizens cannumber therefore be
regarded as a companyrupt practice within the meaning of s.
123 3  of the representation of the people act. that is
clear from the phraseology used in s. 123 3  which appears
to have been deliberately and carefully chosen. unlike art. 19 1  art. 29 1  is number subject to any reasonable
restrictions. the right companyferred upon the section of the
citizens residing in the territory of india or any part
thereof to companyserve their language script or culture is
made by the companystitution absolute and therefore the decision
of this companyrt in jumuna prasad mukhariya and others v.
lachhi ram and others 1  on which reliance was placed by the
high companyrt is number of much use. in that case ss. 123 3  and
124 5  of the representation of the people act as they then
stood were challenged as infringing the fundamental freedom
under art. 19  1   a  of the companystitution and the companyrt in
negativing the companytention held that the provisions of the
representation of the people act did number stop a man from
speaking they merely prescribed companyditions which must be
observed if a candidate wanted to enter parliament. the
right to stand for an election is it was observed a
special right created by statute and can only be exercised
on the companyditions laid down by the statute and if a person
wants to stand for an election he must observe the rules. these observations have numberrelevance to the protection of
the fundamental right to companyserve language. the companyrupt
practice defined by cl.  3  of s. 123 is companymitted when an
appeal is made either to vote or refrain from voting on the
ground of a candidates language. it is the appeal to the
electorate on a ground personal to the candidate relating to
his language which attracts the ban of s. 100 read with s.
123 3 . therefore it is only when the electors are asked to
vote or number to vote because of the
 1  19551 1 s.c.r. 608. 134--159 s.c.-49
particular language of the candidate that a companyrupt practice
may be deemed to be companymitted. where however for
conservation of language of the electorate appeals are made
to the electorate and promises are given that steps would be
taken to companyserve that language it will number amount to a
corrupt practice. it is in the light of these principles the companyrectness of
the findings of the high companyrt that sidhanti was guilty of
the companyrupt practice of appealing for votes on the ground of
his language and of asking the voters to refrain from
voting for daulta on the ground of the language of daulta
may be examined. the petition filed by daulta on this part
of the case was vague. in paragraph 1 1 of his petition it
was averred that sidhanti and his agents made a systematic
appeal to the audience to vote for sidhanti and refrain
from voting for daulta on the ground of religion and
language and in paragraph 12 it was averred that in the
public meetings held to further the prospects of sidhanti in
the election sidhanti and his agents had made systematic
appeals to the electorate to vote for him and refrain from
voting for daulta on the ground of his religion and
language. a bare perusal of the particulars of the companyrupt
practice so set out in paragraphs 1 1 12 are to be found
in schs. c d clearly shows that it was the case of
daulta that sidhanti had said that if the electorate wanted
to protect their language they should vote for the hariana
lok samiti candidate. similar exhortations are said to have
been made by the other speakers at the various meetings. it
is stated in sch. d that resolutions were passed at the
meetings urging upon the government to abolish punjabi from
hariana that many speakers said that the hariana lok
samiti will fight for hindi for hariana and that they were
opposed to the teaching of punjabi in hariana. these
exhortations to the electorate to induce the government to
change their language policy or that a political party will
agitate for the protection of the language spoken by the
residents of the hariana area do number fall within the companyrupt
practices of appealing for votes on the ground of language
of the candidate or to refrain from voting on the ground of
language of the companytesting candidate. speeches made at political meetings held for canvassing
votes must be examined in the companytext of the atmosphere of a
political campaign and the passions which are generally
aroused in such a campaign. in adjudging whether an appeal
is made to the language of the candidate a meticulous
examination of the text of the speech in the serene atmos-
phere of the companyrt room picking out a word here and a phrase
there to make out an offending appeal to vote for or against
a candidate on the ground of language would number be
permissible. a general and overall picture of the speeches
delivered by sidhanti and other speakers at the meeting
disclosed numberhing more than a tale of political promises
exhortations and inducements to vote at the forthcoming
election for sidhanti. it is number disputed that in 1957 there was a wide-spread
agitation in the state of punjab against the enforcement of
the education policy of the state incorporated in the
sachar formula. many persons were imprisoned or detained
in the cause of the agitation for individual acts done by
them. but the movement was number and companyld number be declared
illegal. it is companymon ground that in the harriana region
hindi is the predominant language of the people and if a
section of the people thought that companypelling the students
in the hariana region to learn punjabi was number in their
interest and in the election campaign such a view was
advocated and votes were canvassed on the promise that the
candidate if elected will take steps to companyserve the
language of the region it would be difficult to hold that
appeal--as amounting to a companyrupt practice. it is open to a
candidate in the companyrse of his election campaign to
criticise the policies of the government including its
language policy and to make promises to the electorate that
if elected he will secure a reversal of that policy or will
take measures in the legislature to undo the danger real
apprehended or even fancied to the language of the people. the object of the hariana lok samiti was evidently to resist
the imposition of punjabi in the hariana region and that
object appears to have been made the platform in the
election campaign. thereby it companyld number be said that the
voters were asked number to vote for daulta on the ground of
his language assuming that it was other than
hindi. number can it be said that it was an appeal to the
voters to vote for sidhanti on the ground of his language. the evidence which has been referred to by the high companyrt
regarding the speeches made by badlu ram and harphul singh
on december 10 1961 at beri on the face of it shows that
the speeches were an attack against daulta in respect of his
political companyduct behaviour and beliefs. the speeches made
at the meetings at sampla ladpur and majra dubaldhan read
like political harangues addressed to the electorate to vote
for the candidate who would protect the language of the
people of hariana. at bahadurgarh also sidhanti is stated
to have claimed that he was opposed to the government and
its supporter daulta in the matter of the language movement. the evidence also showed that sidhanti had appealed to the
voters to vote for him because he was actively associated
with the hindi agitation movement and that he was
championing the cause of hindi and resisting the imposition
of a rival language punjabi and thereby suggesting that
daulta was hostile to the cause of hindi language and was
supporting the punjabi language. the criticism by sidhanti
in his appeal to the electorate related to the political
leanings of daulta and his support to the policy of the
government and wag number personally directed against him.


original jurisdiction writ petition  civil  number 71 of 1992.
with
writ petition  civil  number 323 of 1993.
under article 32 of the companystitution of india. p. bhatacharjee n.r. choudhry and somnath mukherjee for
the petitioners in w.p.number 71/93. n. mukherjee for the petitioners in w.p. number 323/93. ms. b. sunita rao for v.k. verma for the respondents. the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by

m.sahaij.casual labourers of south eastern railway
alleged to have been appointed between 1964-69 and
retrenched between 1975-78 have approached this companyrt for a
direction to opposite parties to include their names in the
live casual labourer register after due screening and give
them reemployment according to their seniority. further
prayer is to restrain the opposite parties from filling
vacancies from open market. basis of their claim is two fold one-circulars issued by
the railway board on 8th june and 18th june 1981 laying
guideline regarding recruitment retrenchment and employment
of the casual labourers second-judgments delivered by this
court in 1985 and 1987 directing the opposite parties to
prepare a scheme and absorb the casual labourers in
accordance with their seniority. issuing of circulars by the railway board or decisions by
this companyrt companyld number and has number been disputed. number it is
disputed that in pursuance of the orders passed by this
court the opposite parties framed a scheme in 1987 for
employing retrenched casual labourers. on 2.3. 1987 a
letter was issued from the railway establishment addressed
to the general managers for employing casual labourer
retrenched before 1981 if they satisfied the requirements
mentioned therein which is extracted below
pursuant to directions given by the honble
supreme companyrt in their order dated 23.2.1987
in w.p. number 332 of 1986 the ministry desire
that the cases of project casual labour who
had worked as such before 1. 1.81 and who were
discharged due to companypletion of work or for
want of further work may also be companysidered
for the purpose of implementation of the
scheme companytained in the ministrys letter of
even number dated 1.6.84 and 25.6.84 as modified
in the letter dated 11.9.1986.
representation along with documentary proof
reaching the office mentioned above after
31.3.1987 of those which are incomplete and
also those number made with reference to these
instructions will number be companysidered. the petitioners who claim to have been retrenched due to
completion of halda project appear to have made a
representation in 1990 to the authorities. the
representation runs as under
respected sir
1 on behalf of the fetrenched labour companygress
union i.o. tamluk rly. station. dist. midnaporoe beg
to humbly submit that the above quoted
circulars are number obeyed by den  company . tmz-
dizha. s.e. rly. kgp and they do number follow
the orders of they supreme companyrt high companyrt
of calcutta and central administrative
tribunal calcutta bench. as a result of their indifference the project
casual labour who are retrenched from service
on or before 1.1.1981 are in great
difficulties and they are number getting scope of
absorption. all the applications deposited in the office
of the den  company  kgi in terms of memo number
pd e a/579/a/837 in reference to ce c grc
dated 25.5.1987 are-to be approved. in such circumstances i beg to request you to
intervene in the matter as expeditiously as
humble. needless to say if your grievances are number sympathetically
admitted and the retrenched labour be number absorbed. we
shall have numberalternative way except launching vigorous
movement in the next stage. your faithfully
 bhudev jalua
the representation does number give any detail. it is number
mentioned if the scheme was given due publicity or number. no
explanation is given as to why the petitioners did number
approach till 1990. number it is stated if any of the casual
labourer number it is stated if any of the casual labourer of
the project were reemployed or number. it is vague and was
lacking in material particulars. two questions arise one if the petitioners are entitled as
a matter of law for reemployment and other if they have lost
their right if any due to delay. right of casual labourer
employed in projects to be reemployed in railways has been
recognized both by the railways and this companyrt. but
unfortunately the petitioners did number take any step to
enforce their claim before the railways except sending a
vague representation number did they even care to produce any
material to satisfy this companyrt that they were companyered in the
scheme framed by the railways. it was urged by the learned
counsel for petitioners that they may be permitted to
produce their identify cards etc. before opposite parties
who may accept or reject the same after
verification. we are afraid it would be too dangerous to
permit this exercise. a writ is issued by this companyrt in
favour of a person who has some right. and number for sake of
roving enquiry leaving scope for maneuvering. delay itself
deprives a person of his remedy available is law. in
absence of any fresh cause of action or any legislation a
person who has lost his remedy by lapse of time loses his
right as well.


civil appellate jurisdiction special leave petition
 civil  number 4120 of 1978.
from the judgment and order dated 8-3-78 of the punjab
and haryana high companyrt in civil revision number 801/76. prem malhotra and m. n. shroff for the petitioner. the order of the companyrt was delivered by
krishna iyer j.-we refuse leave but with a message
tag. the poor shall number be priced out of the justice market
by insistence on companyrt-fee and refusal to apply the
exemptive provisions of
order xxxiii c.p.c. so we are distressed that the state of
haryana mindless of the mandate of equal justice to the
indigent under the magna carta of our republic expressed in
article 14 and stressed in art. 39a of the companystitution has
sought leave to appeal against the order of the high companyrt
which has rightly extended the pauper provisions to auto-
accident claims. the reasoning of the high companyrt in holding
that order xxxiii will apply to tribunals which have the
trappings of the civil companyrt finds our approval. we affirm
the decision. even so it is fair for the state to make clear the
situation by framing appropriate rules to exempt from levy
of companyrt fee cases of claims of companypensation where
automobile accidents are the cause. here is a case of a widow and daughter claiming
compensation for the killing of the sole bread-winner by a
state transport bus and the haryana government instead of
acting on social justice and generously settling the claim
fights like a cantankerous litigant even by avoiding
adjudication through the device of asking for companyrt-fee from
the pathetic plaintiffs. two principles are involved. access to companyrt is an
aspect of social justice and the state has numberrational
litigation policy if it forgets this fundamental. our
perspective is best projected by cappelletti quoted by the
australian law reform companymission
the right of effective access to justice has
emerged with the new social rights. indeed it is of
paramount importance among these new rights since
clearly the enjoyment of traditional as well as new
social rights presupposes mechanisms for their
effective protection. such protection moreover is
best assured by a workable remedy within the framework
of the judicial system. effective access to justice can
thus be seen as the most basic requirement-the most
basic human right-of a system which purports to
guarantee legal right.  1
we should expand the jurisprudence of access to justice as
an integral part of social justice and examine the
constitutionalism of companyrt-fee levy as a facet of human
rights highlighted in our nations companystitution. if the
state itself should travesty this basic principle in the
teeth of articles 14 and 39a where an indigent widow is
involved a second look at its policy is overdue. the companyrt
must give the benefit of doubt against levy of a price to
enter the temple of justice
until one day the whole issue of the validity of profit-
making through sale of civil justice disguised as companyrt-
fee is fully reviewed by this companyrt. before parting with
this point we must express our poignant feeling that no
state it seems has as yet framed rules to give effect to
the benignant provision of legal aid to the poor in order
xxxiii rule 9a civil procedure companye although several years
have passed since the enactment. parliament is stultified
and the people are frustrated. even after a law has been
enacted for the benefit of the poor the state does number
bring into force by wilful default in fulfilling the
conditio sine qua number. it is a public duty of each great
branch of government to obey the rule of law and uphold the
tryst with the companystitution by making rules to effectuate
legislation meant to help the poor. the second principle the state of haryana has unhappily
failed to remember is its duty under art. 41 of the
constitution to render public assistance without
litigation in cases of disablement and undeserved want. it
is a numberorious fact that our highways are graveyards on a
tragic sale what with narrow neglected roads reckless
unchecked drivers heavy vehicular traffic and state
transport buses often inflicting the maximum casualties. number
that insurance against third party risk is companypulsory and
motor insurance is nationalised and transport itself is
largely by state undertakings the principle of numberfault
liability and on-the-spot settlement of claims should become
national policy. the victims as here are mostly below the
poverty line and litigation is companypounded misery. hit-and-
run cases are companymon and the time is ripe for the companyrt to
examine whether numberfault liability is number implicit in the
motor vehicles act itself and for parliament to make law in
this behalf to remove all doubts. a long ago report of the
central law companymission companyfined to hit-and-run cases of
auto-accidents is gathering dust. the horrendous increase of
highway casualties and the chronic neglect of rules of road-
safety companystrains us to recommend to the central law
commission and to parliament to senitize this tragic area of
tort law and overhaul it humanistically. anumberher aspect must be numbericed before we part with this
petition. in many states for want of judicial manpower or
other pathological causes the accident claims pend before
tribunals in heartless slowness.