Presentation of nomination paper and requirement for a valid nomination
Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 deals with presentation of nomination paper and requirement for a valid nomination. On or before the date appointed under clause (a) of section 30 each candidate shall, either in person or by his proposer, between the hours of eleven O'clock in the forenoon and three O'clock in the afternoon deliver to the returning officer at the place specified in this behalf in the notice issued The Act came into force on 17 Jul 1951.
1[33. Presentation of nomination paper and requirements for a valid nomination.--(1) On or before the date appointed under clause (a) of section 30 each candidate shall, either in person or by his proposer, between the hours of eleven O'clock in the forenoon and three O'clock in the afternoon deliver to the returning officer at the place specified in this behalf in the notice issued under section 31 a nomination paper completed in the prescribed form and signed by the candidate and by an elector of the constituency as proposer:
2[Provided that a candidate not set up by a recognised political party, shall not be deemed to be duly nominated for election form a constituency unless the nomination paper is subscribed by ten proposers being electors of the constituency:
Provided further that no nomination paper shall be delivered to the returning officer on a day which is a public holiday:
Provided also that in the case of a local authorities' constituency, graduates' constituency or teachers' constituency, the reference to an elector of the constituency as proposer shall be construed as a reference to ten per cent. of the electors of the constituency or ten such electors, whichever is less, as proposers.]
3[(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), for election to the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim (deemed to be the Legislative Assembly of that State duly constituted under the Constitution), the nomination paper to be delivered to the returning officer shall be in such form and manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that the said nomination paper shall be subscribed by the candidate as assenting to the nomination, and
(a) in the case of a seat reserved for Sikkimese of Bhutia-Lepcha origin, also by at least twenty electors of the constituency as proposers and twenty electors of the constituency as seconders;
(b) in the case of a seat reserved for Sanghas, also by at least twenty electors of the constituency as proposers and at least twenty electors of the constituency as seconders;
(c) in the case of a seat reserved for Sikkimese of Nepali origin, by an elector of the constituency as proposer:
Provided further that no nomination paper shall be delivered to the returning officer on a day which is a public holiday.]
(2) In a constituency where any seat is reserved, a candidate shall not be deemed to be qualified to be chosen to fill that seat unless his nomination paper contains a declaration by him specifying the particular caste or tribe of which he is a member and the area in relation to which that caste or tribe is a Scheduled Caste or, as the case may be, a Scheduled Tribe of the State.
(3) Where the candidate is a person who, having held any office referred to in 4[section 9] has been dismissed and a period of five years has not elapsed since the dismissal, such person shall not be deemed to be duly nominated as a candidate unless his nomination paper is accompanied by a certificate issued in the prescribed manner by the Election Commission to the effect that he has not been dismissed for corruption or disloyalty to the State.
(4) On the presentation of a nomination paper, the returning officer shall satisfy himself that the names and electoral roll numbers of the candidate and his proposer as entered in the nomination paper are the same as those entered in the electoral rolls:
5[Provided that no misnomer or inaccurate description or clerical, technical or printing error in regard to the name of the candidate or his proposer or any other person, or in regard to any place, mentioned in the electoral roll or the nomination paper and no clerical, technical or printing error in regard to the electoral roll numbers of any such person in the electoral roll or the nomination paper, shall affect the full operation of the electoral roll or the nomination paper with respect to such person or place in any case where the description in regard to the name of the person or place is such as to be commonly understood; and the returning officer shall permit any such misnomer or inaccurate description or clerical, technical or printing error to be corrected and where necessary, direct that any such misnomer, inaccurate description, clerical, technical or printing error in the electoral roll or in the nomination paper shall be overlooked.]
(5) Where the candidate is an elector of a different constituency, a copy of the electoral roll of that constituency or of the relevant part thereof or a certified copy of the relevant entries in such roll shall, unless it has been filed along with the nomination paper, be produced before the returning officer at the time of scrutiny.
6[(6) Nothing in this section shall prevent any candidate from being nominated by more than one nomination paper:
Provided that not more than four nomination papers shall be presented by or on behalf of any candidate or accepted by the returning officer for election in the same constituency.]
7[(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (6) or in any other provisions of this Act, a person shall not be nominated as a candidate for election,--
(a) in the case of a general election to the House of the People (whether or not held simultaneously from all Parliamentary constituencies), from more than two Parliamentary constituencies;
(b) in the case of a general election to the Legislative Assembly of a State (whether or not held simultaneously from all Assembly constituencies), from more than two Assembly constituencies in that State;
(c) in the case of a biennial election to the Legislative Council of a State having such Council, from more than two Council constituencies in the State;
(d) in the case of a biennial election to the Council of States for filling two or more seats allotted to a State, for filling more than two such seats;
(e) in the case of bye-elections to the House of the People from two or more Parliamentary constituencies which are held simultaneously, from more than two such Parliamentary constituencies;
(f) in the case of bye-elections to the Legislative Assembly of a State from two or more Assembly constituencies which are held simultaneously, from more than two such Assembly constituencies;
(g) in the case of bye-elections to the Council of States for filling two or more seats allotted to a State, which are held simultaneously, for filling more than two such seats;
(h) in the case of bye-elections to the Legislative Council of a State having such Council from two or more Council constituencies which are held simultaneously, from more than two such Council constituencies.
Explanation.For the purposes of this sub-section, two or more bye-elections shall be deemed to be held simultaneously where the notification calling such bye-elections are issued by the Election Commission under sections 147, 149, 150 or, as the case may be, 151 on the same date.]
Section 33, The Representation of the People Act, 1951 (Act 43 of 1951).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
- s. 9 Disqualification for dismissal for corruption or disloyalty
- s. 30 Appointment of dates for nominations, etc
- s. 31 Public notice of election
- s. 147 Casual vacancies in the Council of States
- s. 149 Casual vacancies in the House of the People
- s. 150 Casual vacancies in the State Legislative Assemblies
Referred to by 7
- s. 33A Right to information
- s. 34 Deposits
- s. 35 Notice of nominations and the time and place for their scrutiny
- s. 36 Scrutiny of nominations
- s. 39 Nomination of candidates at other elections
- s. 52 Death of candidate of recognised Political Party before Poll
- s. 125A Penalty for filing false affidavit, etc
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Tej Bahadur vs Shri Narendra Modi
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A person dismissed from government service whose nomination is not accompanied by the mandatory certificate of non-dismissal for corruption or disloyalty under Section 33(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, cannot be deemed a 'duly nominated candidate' and consequently lacks the locus standi to file an election petition under Section 81.
On this section: Mandatory provision requiring a certificate of non-dismissal for corruption or disloyalty to accompany the nomination of a dismissed officer.
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Sri Mairembam Prithviraj @ Prithibiraj Singh vs Shri Pukhrem Sharatchandra Singh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a candidate's nomination is improperly accepted due to false declaration of educational qualification, and there are only two candidates contesting for a single seat, the election of the returned candidate must be declared void without requiring further proof that the result was materially affected by such improper acceptance. A false declaration relating to educational qualification constitutes a defect of substantial character warranting rejection of nomination, as voters have a fundamental right to accurate information about candidates' qualifications. The distinction between improper acceptance of a returned candidate's nomination versus other candidates' nominations is critical: when the returned candidate's nomination is improperly accepted, no pleading or proof of material effect is necessary because the returned candidate would not have been able to contest the election but for such improper acceptance.
On this section: Provides for presentation of nomination paper and requirements of a valid nomination
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Uttamrao Shivdas Jankar vs Ranjitsinh Vijaysinh Mohite-patil
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Improper rejection of a nomination paper under Section 100(1)(c) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 encompasses not merely errors in the decision-making process of the Returning Officer but also the correctness and merit of the decision itself. The Returning Officer, while exercising quasi-judicial power under Section 36(2) of the Act, must apply the statutory presumption of validity of nomination papers contained in the Election Commission Handbook, placing the burden on the objector to prove invalidity. The Returning Officer cannot shift this burden to the candidate. In an election petition, the High Court acts as a court of original jurisdiction conducting a civil trial, not as an appellate court merely reviewing the decision-making process. The High Court must frame issues, call for evidence from both parties, examine the veracity of rival claims, and decide the matter on merits. A statutory right of a party cannot be denied based on a wrong concession made by counsel.
On this section: Mode and manner of filing nomination
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Sri Mairembam Prithviraj @ Prithibiraj Singh vs Shri Pukhrem Sharatchandra Singh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When the nomination of a returned candidate is found to have been improperly accepted due to a substantial defect such as false declaration of educational qualification, and there are only two candidates contesting the election, it is not necessary for the election petitioner to separately plead and prove that the result of the election was materially affected by such improper acceptance. The material effect on the result is an obvious conclusion from the circumstances, because the returned candidate would not have been able to contest the election at all if his nomination had been properly rejected. Additionally, false declaration regarding educational qualification constitutes a defect of substantial character warranting rejection of nomination under Section 36(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as voters have a fundamental right to accurate information about candidates' qualifications.
On this section: Provides for presentation of nomination paper and requirements of valid nomination including signature by candidate and proposer
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… I & II thereof filled and he fails to bring notice in Forms "A" and "B" from the authorized officer-bearer of the concerned political party, the nomination paper may be accepted if Part II is properly filled and subscribed by ten electors as proposers, as there will be substantial compliance with the provisions of Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. iv) If a candidate, who filed his nomination paper as candidate claiming to be set up by an un- recognized political party, fails to bring in his favour a notice from the concerned political party in Forms "A" and "B", his nomination paper will be accepted if it …
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… I & II thereof filled and he fails to bring notice in Forms "A" and "B" from the authorized officer-bearer of the concerned political party, the nomination paper may be accepted if Part II is properly filled and subscribed by ten electors as proposers, as there will be substantial compliance with the provisions of Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. iv) If a candidate, who filed his nomination paper as candidate claiming to be set up by an un- recognized political party, fails to bring in his favour a notice from the concerned political party in Forms "A" and "B", his nomination paper will be accepted if it …
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… Referring to the gravity of the mistake and possible consequences, the Apex Court declared that the said mistake in the Nomination paper was not of a 'substantial character' as contemplated under section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. So also, it was held that the defect, arising out of the fact that columns Nos. 2 and 5 were not properly filled, was not of a substantial character, as the Returning Officer had no difficulty in checking that the 14 proposer and the candidate were voters on …
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument states that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.
Another 1 instrument names this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 33
What have the courts held on Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act?
Tej Bahadur vs Shri Narendra Modi (24 Nov 2020) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Mandatory provision requiring a certificate of non-dismissal for corruption or disloyalty to accompany the nomination of a dismissed officer. Another 3 judgments on this section are set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2009 to 2020.
How do I find court cases under Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: RP Act 1951 33, section 33 RP Act 1951, section 33 of the Representation of the People Act. People searching for it also type representation of people act 1951 section 33 7 and representation of peoples act section 33. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 4 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Tej Bahadur vs Shri Narendra Modi (24 Nov 2020).
What should I read with Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 9 (Disqualification for dismissal for corruption or disloyalty), section 30 (Appointment of dates for nominations, etc), section 31 (Public notice of election), section 147 (Casual vacancies in the Council of States), and on 2 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 7 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there is one: most recently The Conduct of Assembly Elections (Sikkim) Rules, 1979 (1979).
When did Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act come into force?
Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, cited as RP Act 1951 33, came into force on 17 Jul 1951, having been enacted on 17 Jul 1951. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 123. Corrupt practices1710 words
- 8. Disqualification on conviction for certain offences898 words
- 75A. Declaration of assets and liabilities659 words
- 39. Nomination of candidates at other elections632 words
- 36. Scrutiny of nominations596 words
- 2. Interpretation564 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.