Indra Kumar v. Dayananda Dissanayake and Others – sllr 2001 volume 2 page 089

In the case between Indra Kumar (plaintiff) and Dayananda Dissanayake and Others (defendants), the court addressed whether the Returning Officer’s acceptance of the National Unity Alliance nomination paper, despite allegations of forged signatures and procedural irregularities, complied with the Parliamentary Elections Act and the Constitution. It was held that the Returning Officer is only obligated to ensure the nomination paper lists the requisite number of candidates and is not required to conduct a formal inquiry into post-submission objections. The principle reaffirmed is that the officer’s role is ministerial and limited in scope under Section 19 of the Act, and an entire nomination cannot be invalidated due to an alleged forged signature unless the petitioner directly establishes a