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It is stated that the petitioner was one of the contesting candidates in the said election and was nominated by the Bhartiya Janata Party (in short 'B.J.P') with the symbol of 'Lotus' whereas the respondent was nominated as candidate of the Samajwadi Party (in short 'Samajwadi Party') with the symbol of 'Cycle').

The allegation is that the respondent has adopted and committed a corrupt practice as defined in sub-section (7) of Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (for short 'Act, 1951') and therefore, his election is liable to be declared as null and void. In the said election which was declared on 6 March, 2016 the petitioner is stated to have secured 962 votes whereas the respondent secured 2285 votes. Alleging corrupt practice it is stated that one Dr. Anil Sharma had filed his nomination on 15 February, 2016 at 11.15 A.M. (the last date for filing nomination) as a Samajwadi Party candidate for election to the Legislative Council of Uttar Pradesh from Rampur - Bareilly Local Authority Constituency. The respondent on the other hand filed his nomination for the same constituency as Samajwadi Party candidate also on the last date of nomination i.e. 15 February, 2016 at 14.28 A.M. The allegation is that the authorization letter of the respondent was brought on 15 February, 2016 by Sri Jagdev Singh, Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) to Sri Akhilesh Yadav, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in a Government Helicopter. It is alleged that Sri Jagdev Singh came to Bareilly in a Government Helicopter and landed in the ground of Police line, Bareilly carrying the authorization letter of the Samajwadi Party in favour of the respondent on 15 February, 2016 and that he was received in the Police Line by the respondent Sri Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi and the other political workers and supporters of the Samajwadi Party and other district officials. The authorization letter in favour of the respondent was handed over by Sri Jagdev Singh in furtherance of the election prospect of the respondent after landing at Bareilly from a Government Helicopter and Sri Jagdev Singh being a government official on the said date such act constituted corrupt practice. It is stated that after receiving the Samajwadi Party authorization from Sri Jagdev Singh, the respondent filed his nomination on 15 February, 2016 at 14.28 P.M. Thus, the respondent adopted corrupt practice in filing his nomination as he has received the authorization letter of the Samajwadi Party from Sri Jagdev Singh who was the O.S.D. and therefore, a government official who brought the authorization letter to Bareilly in a Government Helicopter and handed it over to the respondent.

The next witness P.W. 2 Sri Satya Prakash Patel in his affidavit has stated that on 15 February, 2016 when he was near the Chaupala Crossing near Bareilly Police Line, he swa a helicopter which landed in the police line and there was a large crowd in the police line ground. After the helicopter landed the person who got down from it shook hands with Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav, the District President of Samajwadi Party, Bareilly and handed over to him some papers and Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav took the papers and along with opposite party went to the Collectorate, Bareilly immediately. It is also stated that from some police personnel and other persons standing in the police ground, he learnt that nomination and acknowledgment papers of the opposite party were brought by Sri Jagdev Singh, O.S.D. to then Chief Minister Sri Akhilesh Yadav by helicopter and thereafter, gave this information to Sri Pushp Pal Singh informing him that the Samajwadi Party had changed its candidate. In cross-examination Sri Satya Prakash Patel when asked as to how he came to be near police line ground, he stated that he is an agent of the Life Insurance Corporation of India whose office is close to the Collectorate and when he was going to his office he saw a helicopter landing in the police ground at about 1.30 P.M. and that a large crowd of Samajwadi Party workers and other persons had collected in the police line ground and out of curiosity he also went there. When asked as to how he came to know that there were Samajwadi Party workers in the crowd, the witness stated that the then District President of the Samajwadi Party Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav, Mayor Dr. I.S.Tomar and former MLC Sri Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi etc. were also present there. When asked as to whether he himself saw the O.S.D. Sri Jagdev Singh handing over papers regarding election symbol and nomination to the District President Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav, the witness replied in the affirmative and stated that two persons got down from the helicopter and came towards Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav, District President of Samajwadi Party and one of them was an elderly person who handed over certain papers to Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav and when out of curiosity asked some of the persons standing there he was informed that the name of Sri Anil Sharma, the previous candidate had been cancelled and nomination papers and symbol had been brought by Sri Jagdev Singh, O.S.D. to then Chief Minister Sri Akhilesh Yadav in favour of Sri Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi and thereafter, Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav, the then Mayor Dr. I.S. Tomar and former MLC Sri Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi went in haste towards the Collectorate. The witness stated that Sri Jagdev Singh was holding papers in his hand. Looking at the photographic documents, page 46 of the documents, the witness stated his statement is with regard to the time when Sri Jagdev Singh got down from the helicopter and handed over the papers to Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav. When asked whether he recognized the two persons in the photograph at page 46 of the documents, the witness replied that he did not know either of the two persons in the photograph but he was informed by persons standing in the crowd that one of them was Sri Jagdev Singh, O.S.D. Looking at the photograph at page 51 of the documents, the witness stated that neither of the persons in the photograph was holding any paper. Similarly, looking at the photograph at page 50, the witness stated that Sri Jagdev Singh was not seen in the photograph but another person who came with him in the same helicopter is clearly visible but Sri Jagdev Singh coming out of the same helicopter with some other person itself was enough. Looking at the photographic at page 50 when asked whether the other person in the photograph was carrying papers which he handed over to Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav, the District President of Samajwadi Party, Bareilly and Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav took papers from him, the witness stated that the other person and Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav are visible in the photograph but Sri Jagdev Singh was not visible in the photograph. When asked that other person who handed over the papers to Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav was Sri Praveen Maheshwari, the witness stated that he was only stating that what he had seen.

In cross-examination by the counsel for the opposite party, he stated that when he was passing through police line he saw the crowd in the police ground so he went inside and saw a helicopter had landed there between 1.30 p.m. to 2 p.m. He saw two people getting down from the helicopter out of which one was an elderly person and other one was a younger person . The elder person was carrying some file in his hands. From page 46 of the list of documents which is the photograph published in the Amar Ujala dated 16 February, 2016 he stated that Sri Jagdev Singh was not carrying any paper in his hands but the papers were in the hands of another person who was wearing a blue shirt and it was either a paper or a file. From the photograph at page 50 of the list of documents, he stated that the person in the photograph is Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav, District President of the Swamajwadi Party, Bareilly From the photograph at page 50 of the list of documents, he stated that he saw another person who had come with Sri Jagdev Singh was carrying some papers. Again from the photograph at page 50 of the list of documents, he stated that Sri Jagdev Singh is not present in the photograph . He also stated that he identified Sri Jagdev Singh from his photo.

In cross-examination by Sri Vinay Kumar Khare, counsel for the petitioner, when asked that he had concealed the fact in his affidavit that Sri Jagdev Singh, O.S.D. to the then Chief Minister Sri Akhilesh Yadav had also come in the helicopter and the witness must have been informed by Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav that his nomination, authorization and election symbol were being brought by Sri Jagdev Singh, O.S.D. to the then Chief Minister Sri Akhilesh Yadav, the witness stated that he had received a phone call from Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav at about 11.30 a.m. to meet him and he reached Bareilly around 1.45 p.m. Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav directed him to come straightway to the police line. When asked as to whether when he went to the police line, Sri Jagdev Singh, O.S.D. to the then Chief Minister Sri Akhilesh Yadav was already present there the witness replied that when he reached the police line, the helicopter was about to take off. He waited at the gate of the police line for Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav and did not see any person sitting in the helicopter nor does he know the person sitting in the helicopter. It is only when he came out of the gate that he was informed by Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav that he has to go to the Election Office with him to file the nomination papers as a candidate of the Samajwadi Party. When asked to identify the documents at page 46, 47 & 48 as being paper cuttings of Sri Jagdev Singh, O.S.D. to the then Chief Minister Sri Akhilesh Yadav, the witness replied that he had not seen anybody coming out from the helicopter and that he had only met Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav who informed him at the gate of the police line that he had been declared a candidate by the Samajwadi Party and thereafter, he sat in the car of Sri Veer Pal Singh Yadav and went to the Election Office to file his nomination. He filled up the papers in the Election Office and filed nomination at about 2.28 p.m. When confronted with the document at page 33 with regard to his reply to the District Magistrate's notice that Lucknow-Bareilly visit on 15 February, 2016 was personal and very confidential, the witness stated that he had received a notice from the District Magistrate, Bareilly upon which he contacted the State Office and contacted Sri S.R. Yadav, the State Secretary and he informed him that the payment for the helicopter had been made by the Party (Samajwadi Party). When asked what he had to say to the notice of the District Magistrate that in the Helicopter Sri Jagdev Singh, O.S.D. to the then Chief Minister Sri Akhilesh Yadav had brought his nomination papers, the witness replied that he had not seen anybody in the helicopter and that his nomination papers were given to him in the Election Office by the District President and he had not been given any paper by any person sitting in the helicopter. When asked whether he had travelled from Rampur to Bareilly on 15 February, 2016 at about 11.30 a.m. and received the nomination papers at about 1.50 p.m. and completed the entire formalities within 38 minutes, the witness stated that he had reached the police line at 1 p.m. and received the papers in the police line from the District President and went with him to the Election Office and thereafter, filed his nomination at 2.28 p.m. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the documents filed along with the Election Petition. The document at page 12 of the list of documents is the Form 'BB', which is stated to have been brought by Sri Jagdev Singh by helicopter, which is the authorization letter issued by the Samajwadi Party. Page 14 is the nomination paper of respondent Sri Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi which shows that the same was filed at 14.28 p.m. (2.28 p.m.) on 15 February, 2016 as per endorsement made at the top right hand corner of the document. Page 17 is the authorization letter issued by the President, Samajwadi Party in Form 'AA'. The document at page 26 is the letter issued by the Election Commission under the Right to Information Act. The letter of the Officer-in-Special Duty of the office of Chief Election Officer, Uttar Pradesh dated 2.3.2016 is at page 28 which clearly mentions that there is no bar or constraint on the use of government helicopter other than administrative purpose, however, there is no bar for providing helicopter in case of an emergency. The document at page 29 is a letter written by one Sri Arun Singhal, Chief Election Officer, Uttar Pradesh dated 1.3.2016 addressed to the Principal Secretary, Civil Aviation informing that a complaint had been received that a government helicopter had been utilized for providing the nomination and authorization papers in favour of a candidate of the Samajwadi Party and it was informed that the Samajwadi Party had paid the charges for the helicopter. The query of the Election Officer as to whether such services are provided by the Department of Civil Aviation to all the political parties, page 30 of the list of documents is again another letter dated 1.3.2016 written by the Civil Aviation Department to the Chief Election Officer, Uttar Pradesh informing him that the same reply was given earlier that there is no provision for providing any such service of a government helicopter other than administrative use but there is no bar for providing such facility in case of an emergency. Page 31 is a letter of the Under Secretary addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh dated 2.3.2016 with regard to the violation of the Model Code of Conduct in the biennial election of the Utttar Pradesh Legislative Council by using a government helicopter. Page 32 which is a letter dated 2.3.2016 is a reply of the Observer Sri Y.E. Kerure stating clearly that the Collector had reported that on 1.3.2016 a helicopter was used for carrying Form 'AA' and Form 'BB' in favour of Samajwadi Party candidate Sri Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi and an amount of Rs.2,21,575/- has been recovered and deposited in the account of the Civil Aviation Department. The next document is a report of the District Magistrate, Bareilly dated 01.03.2016 at page 33 stating in clear terms that the Samajwadi Party candidate Sri Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi had, in reply to the notice to him by the District Magistrate, stated that the helicopter had come to Bareilly on 15 February, 2016 on a very private visit and Rs.2,21,575/- had already been deposited with the Civil Aviation Department. Page 34 of the list of documents is a letter dated dated 27.2.2016 by the Observer Sri Y.E. Kerure to the Senior Principal Secretary, Election Commission of India, New Delhi. Referring to the report of the District Election Officer and Collector, Bareilly that the person who arrived by government helicopter on 15 February, 2016 at Bareilly Police Line and handed over the Form 'AA' and Form 'BB' to the party office bearer which were used for filing of the nomination of Sri Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, opposite party and that the complaint made in this regard has been found to be true by the Collector, Bareilly.