The operative portion of a judgment must be legally sustainable

The High Court’s operative portion declared the election void. It imposed a six-year disqualification and ordered forwarding of the finding. The appellant specifically challenged the disqualification clause. The Supreme Court examined whether that clause was within jurisdiction. An operative direction is not valid merely because it appears alongside a lawful finding. Every part of an order must be supported by law. The case turned in part on the legal limits of the High Court’s order. The judgment assessed the impugned direction against the Act. K.M. Shaji v. M. V. Nikesh Kumar & Ors. | 2026 INSC 111