Voters can file private criminal complaints against candidates for false election affidavits, Supreme Court holds

The Supreme Court has held that private citizens can file criminal complaints against elected candidates for furnishing false information or concealing material facts in their election affidavits under Section 125A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu ruled that Section 125A is not listed among the offences in Section 195(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure — and the legislature's omission is deliberate — so no complaint by the Election Commission or a public servant is needed for a court to take cognisance of a voter's complaint under Section 200 CrPC. The ruling came in Rajkumar Madki's appeal against the Karnataka High Court's quashing of his complaint against Bidar MLA Dr Shailendra Beldale over a false residential address in his 2023 nomination affidavit; the Court rejected the High Court's reasoning but upheld the quashing on separate grounds, noting the allegation was prima facie rebutted and the prospect of conviction appeared remote. LiveLaw (LiveLaw)

• The Supreme Court has held that private citizens can file criminal complaints against elected candidates for furnishing false information or concealing material facts in their election affidavits under Section 125A of th
• A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu ruled that Section 125A is not listed among the offences in Section 195(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure — and the legislature's omission is deliberate — so no compla
• The ruling came in Rajkumar Madki's appeal against the Karnataka High Court's quashing of his complaint against Bidar MLA Dr Shailendra Beldale over a false residential address in his 2023 nomination affidavit; the Court