Tamil

South Indian Film Artistes’ Association to hold elections at Mylapore St Ebba’s school

Siva Sekaran

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has permitted the South Indian Film Artistes’ Association (SIFAA) to hold its election at St Ebba’s Girls Higher Secondary School on Radhakrishnan Salai at Mylapore on Sunday. Justice N Anand Venkatesh, who granted the permission at a special sitting at his residence on Greenways Road late on Saturday evening, also directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mylapore, to provide adequate protection for the election.

The judge was passing interim orders on a fresh petition from association secretary Vishal Krishna. 
At a special late night sitting on Friday, Justice P D Audikesavalu had stayed the order dated June 19 of the Registrar of Societies deferring the election, originally scheduled to be held on June 23. Around 9.40 pm on June 21, the judge permitted the association to conduct the elections as scheduled on June 23. The judge, however, directed that the results shall not be declared until further orders and posted the matter for July 8 with a direction to the Registrar to file his response.

Originally, the association had moved Mylapore police to provide security for the election scheduled at Dr MGR-Janaki Arts & Science College for Women at RA Puram on June 23. However, police expressed its inability. Challenging this, the association moved the High Court and Justice Anand Venkatesh rejected the plea to hold the election at MGR-Janaki college.

He had suggested some other places and told the association to come with a fresh plea. When the matter came up the next day,  Additional Advocate-General produced a communication of deferring the election indefinitely following complaints with regard to voters’ list. Challenging this, the association filed a plea and Justice Audikesavalu stayed the operation of the Registrar’s communication, late on Friday.
The petition stating the association had decided to hold the election at St Ebba’s School came up before Justice Anand Venkatesh on Saturday.

The election to the Association of film, TV and stage-actors is to elect a president, two vice-presidents, a general secretary, a treasurer and an executive committee comprising 24 members.Justice Venkatesh said the election should commence at 7 am and conclude at 5 pm. No one should be allowed inside the school without ID cards. Parking should not be allowed on the road.

Vehicles should be kept on the school premises or leave after the members alighted. The DC should see to it that the event takes place without any disturbance to the movement of vehicles and pedestrians on arterial Radhakrishnan Road. After the polling hours, the ballot boxes should be taken to the association premises at T Nagar and kept in a room locked and sealed, the judge said.

Suo motu contempt notice to Isari Ganesh

CHENNAI: Claiming that two persons belonging to Swamy Sankaradoss Ani (led by actor K Bhagyaraj) attempted to interfere in the issue on hand, Justice N Anand Venkatesh suo-motu initiated contempt proceedings against them, on Saturday. During the course of arguments on the petition from South Indian Film Artistes’ Association at a special sitting at his residence, the judge told State Public Prosecutor A Natarajan and petitioner’s counsel Krishna Ravindran that at the instigation of Isari Ganesh, one Anantharaman had approached him with a plea to simply adjourn the matter by two weeks. Even though  Anantharaman was known to him, the judge said that no one should be allowed to interfere in his justice delivery system. This amounted to contempt of court, the judge added and issued the statutory notice to the duo, returnable in four weeks. 

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