Personal Presentation Mandatory for Election Petitions, Supreme Court Rules

The Supreme Court on 7 October held that an election petitioner must personally present the petition under Section 81 of the Representation of the People Act. Dismissing a challenge to the Madras High Court’s rejection of a petition questioning a 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly result, the Court said the word “by” in Section 81 requires presentation by the candidate or elector, not merely by counsel. High Courts may prescribe the officer and procedure for receiving petitions, but cannot dilute a requirement written into the statute. The Court distinguished defects governed only by court rules or Section 83, which do not automatically trigger dismissal under Section 86. It noted that substantial compliance may exist where counsel or a clerk presents the papers in the petitioner’s immediate presence, but no such case was made here.