India, Aug. 20 -- Not every instance of non-disclosure of assets by a candidate is enough to nullify an election, the Supreme Court has ruled, stressing that the sanctity of the popular mandate must prevail over purely technical objections. A judicial victory founded on minor omissions rather than the people's verdict, the court said, should be spurned unless grave irregularities are undermining the integrity of the poll.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh underscored that courts must sharply distinguish between concealment of criminal antecedents, which it said goes to the root of electoral purity, and failure to disclose some details of assets or educational qualifications. The former, the court said, must be scrutinis...