CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK president C Joseph Vijay has told the Madras High Court that the allegation of using children for electoral gains, without substantial material, is not a sustainable ground for seeking his victory to be declared void.
The submission was made in a ‘reject the plaint’ application filed by him, praying for the court to dismiss the election petition filed by Inigo Irudayaraj of the DMK challenging his victory in Tiruchy-East, before Justice V Lakshminarayanan.
Referring to the allegation of the petitioner that children were used for electioneering in violation of a February 5, 2024, directive of the Election Commission of India, the application stated, “Even assuming the allegations to be correct for the limited purpose of the present application, the petition fails to plead the necessary material facts demonstrating that the alleged directive constitutes an order made under the Representation of the People Act within the meaning of Section 100 (1) (d) (iv).”
The petition of Inigo Irudayaraj states that the directive is traceable to Article 324 of the Constitution and does not plead the statutory provision of the RP Act pursuant to which the said directive constitutes an order made under the Act, Vijay contended.
“The Model Code of Conduct likewise does not, by itself, constitute an independent statutory ground for declaring an election void under Section 100 of the RP Act,” he stated.
Further, he noted that the petitioner’s reliance upon the alleged violation of the ECI directive and MCC does not, without the necessary statutory nexus, disclose a cause of action under Section 100 (1) (d) (iv).
“The petition further fails to plead the material facts demonstrating how the alleged use of children resulted in any particular number of votes being cast in my favour or otherwise materially affected the results,” the CM said.
He added that Inigo Irudayaraj’s assertion that “voters were emotionally swayed” and that his prospects were affected cannot substitute the material facts necessary to establish a material effect upon the result of the polls.
The election petition seeks to convert an alleged regulatory or administrative violation into an independent ground for declaring the polls void without pleading the statutory foundation required under Section 100 of the RP Act, he said.
Vijay denied the allegations of his election expenditure exceeding the permissible levels and noted that the petitioner had not furnished full particulars and material facts establishing the allegation.
He said the allegation that he used his worship in a church for electoral gains is bereft of the factual ingredients of the alleged corrupt practice.