The High Court of Karnataka has said that non-disclosure of assets or suppression of the assets of a candidate, or his or her spouse and dependents, will amount to corrupt practice requiring disqualification of the candidature in an election held to a panchayat under the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act.
Also, the court said there is no particular requirement for the election petitioner to specifically aver or prove that the suppression has resulted in an adverse impact favourable to the returned candidate in the election, as the mere suppression is sufficient to invoke the provisions of Section 19(1)(b) of the Act, which prescribes grounds for declaring the election as void.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj, in his order setting aside an order passed by a civil court in Kalaburagi district in relation to the election of a member to a gram panchayat, said it is not only suggesting of false information regarding the assets but also suppression of details relating to the assets that would be covered under Section 19 of the Act.
The High Court, referring to observations made in the judgments of the apex court, pointed out that purity of election at all levels, be it election to Parliament or a State legislature or a municipal corporation, or panchayat is of national importance in which uniform policies are desirable in the interest of all the States and therefore, disclosure of assets has to be made of the candidate, spouse of the candidate, and other dependent members.
