In Brief
A Member of the Legislative Assembly cast a vote in a Rajya Sabha election in the forenoon but was convicted and disqualified in the afternoon of the same day. The Supreme Court held that the vote remains valid. Disqualification is a consequence of conviction and a consequence cannot precede its cause. The 'date' of conviction refers to the moment when the conviction occurred, not the entire day. Therefore, a vote cast before the conviction becomes effective cannot be retroactively invalidated. The Returning Officer has no duty to anticipate criminal court outcomes. The appeal was dismissed and the vote upheld as valid.
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