CHENNAI: The first bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed a PIL petition to recover from errant candidates the expenditure incurred by the Election Commission of India for the conduct of elections to Aravakurichi and Thanjavur constituencies.
In the absence of any provision in the Constitution and in the Representation of the People Act, such a direction cannot be given, the bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar said on Thursday.
The bench was dismissing a PIL petition from M Baskaran and G Kunjithapatham, both from the PMK, who prayed for a direction from the court for the recovery of election expenses from the errant candidates because of whom the elections were postponed or cancelled..
The duo were contestants in the May 2016 elections to Aravakurichi and Thanjavur constituencies, where by-polls were countermanded by the ECI following alleged large-scale distribution of money to voters.