Response sought on plea to upload electoral roll
Madurai: The Madurai Bench has sought a response from State Election Commission on a PIL seeking direction to upload electoral roll, nomination and affidavits of candidates contesting in local body elections in the official website. The litigant B Ramkumar Adityan, a Thoothukudi-based advocate, submitted that during Lok Sabha/Assembly elections, voters were able to know whether or not their name was included by checking the official website.
“But in case of local body elections, the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission does not publish it roll in its website,” he said. Adityan further alleged that TNSEC also failed to upload affidavits filed by local body election candidates even though the right to know the same was guaranteed to the voters in the Constitution. A bench comprising Justices M Sathyanarayanan and B Pugalendhi issued notice to the additional chief secretary of rural development and panchayat raj department, secretary of municipal administration, State election commissioner among others, and directed the State election commissioner to file a counter before July 16.
Pa Ranjith’s bail plea to be heard tomorrow
Madurai: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has adjourned Director Pa Ranjith’s anticipatory bail petition in the case registered against him for controversial remarks against King Raja Raja Chola in Thanjavur, to June 21. Justice P Rajamanickam adjourned the case granting time to a man, one S Muthu Kumar who sought permission to intervene in Ranjith’s petition, to make some corrections in his intervening petition. The undertaking given by the State, saying that Ranjith would not be arrested in the mean time, is therefore said to have been extended. The director was booked for allegedly making statements about land grabbing and the practice of Devadasi system during King Raja Raja Chola’s rule, in a death anniversary meeting organised by Neelapuligal Iyakkam in Thanjavur.