Question

When did the Allahabad High Court give the verdict against Indira Gandhi?
a. 1974
b. 1975
c. 1976
d. 1977

Answer 1

Hint: The case when Allahabad court gave the verdict against Indira Gandhi is known as ‘The State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain’. Raj Narain was a candidate of the opposition party. He had contested the 1971 Indian general election against Indira Gandhi from the constituency of Rae Bareilly in the Lok Sabha.

Complete answer: Indira Gandhi had won the 1971 Lok Sabha by defeating the social leader Raj Narain. Raj Narain had alleged that Indira Gandhi had used bribery, government machinery and resources to gain an unfair advantage in winning the election.
The Judge of Allahabad High court had given the judgement that Indira Gandhi’s win was invalid and had barred her from holding elected office for six years. This decision led to a political crisis in India and eventually to the imposition of national emergency over the country from 1975 to 1977.
Let us study the options now.
Option a- The general Indian elections were held in 1971 in which Indira Gandhi and Raj Narain were contestants from Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. The issue was taken to the Allahabad High court but the judgement was not announced in the year 1974. This is the wrong answer.
Option b- The high court had announced Indira Gandhi guilty and barred her from being elected for six years on June 12, 1975. She was accused of using government machinery for elections. Thus, this is the correct answer.
Option c- The verdict of the Allahabad court came in favour of Raj Narain but not in the year 1976. It had come out before that year. So, this is an incorrect option.
Option d- In the year 1977, the next general elections were held in which Raj Narain defeated Indira Gandhi in Raebareli and her party lost. The opposition party ‘Janata Party’ won. Thus, this is not the year of the court’s judgement and is the wrong option.
Therefore, option b is correct.

Note: Due to this case, the country was put into national emergency for the first time and the last time till date. It is said that the judgement of Jagmohan Sinha who was the judge of Allahabad High court, was unassailable and it was hailed all over the democratic world as a great victory of an independent jurisdiction system of India.