Saidai Sa. Duraisamy v. Stalin M. K.
(2016) 5 LW 448
In the High Court of Madras
Election Petition 1/2011
Before Justice M. Venugopal
Decided on March 10, 2016

Relevancy of the case: Fulfilment of certificate requirements under Section 65B in an election petition

Statutes & Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 2(t))
• The Evidence Act, 1872 (Section 65B)

Relevant Facts of the Case

1. The issue was regarding elections as the EVMs were tampered with and screens displayed “invalid” message.
2. The then-mayor of Chennai was involved with respondent no. 1 who collectively paid voters with money brought from ill sources.
3. The directives of Election Commission were not applicable as the base itself was disturbed by the respondent number 1 and the Mayor ensured no cooperation for the directives to be followed.
4. The speeches, songs, and announcements were recorded using instruments and by feeding them into a computer, CDs were made. These CDs were presented before the court without the required certificate under Section 65B.

Final Decision

1. The election petition is dismissed. Considering the facts and circumstances of the entire conspectus of the present case, the Court exercised its judicial discretion and directed the parties to bear their own costs.
2. The speeches, songs, and announcements produced in the court as evidence were not considered, owing to the fact that the provisions of Section 65B were not complied with.
3. The evidence fell within the ambit of secondary evidence and hence, could not be produced in Court.

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