DESH RAJ vs BODH RAJ

The Supreme Court, in Civil Appeal No. 4676 of 2005, held that the election of a candidate claiming to belong to a scheduled caste is void if he is found not to belong to such caste, as per Article 173 of the Constitution and Section 5 of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The Court upheld the High Court's dismissal of the election petition, finding that the appellant failed to prove the respondent's ineligibility. The judgment reinforced the necessity of accurate caste representation in elections for reserved constituencies.