DURAI MUTHUSWAMI vs N. NACHIAPPAN & ORS.

The Supreme Court held that under Section 83(1)(a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, an election petition must contain a concise statement of material facts. The Court clarified that Section 100(1)(a) does not require the petitioner to allege that the election result was materially affected by the improper acceptance of a nomination paper; it suffices that the returned candidate was disqualified on the election date. The appeal was allowed, overturning the High Court's dismissal of the election petition for lack of specific averment regarding material effect.