Courts shouldn't rush to invalidate elections: SC

The top court noted the issue in the election petition was whether non-disclosure of income as shown in income tax return for four financial years of the last five financial years in the Form 26 affidavit by the returned candidate would amount to a corrupt practice

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The Supreme Court has said courts should not rush to invalidate elections by adopting a “highly pedantic” approach just because a returned candidate didn’t disclose certain information about assets, unless it influences the poll's outcome.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, therefore, dismissed an appeal against an October 2024 order of the Telangana High Court which rejected an election petition related to the 2023 legislative assembly polls in Telangana.

The top court noted the issue in the election petition was whether nondisclosure of income as shown in income tax return for four financial years of the last five financial years in the Form 26 affidavit by the returned candidate would amount to a corrupt practice.