CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has held that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C Joseph Vijay's appeal to children during campaigning for the April 2026 Assembly elections to persuade their parents to vote for his party does not amount to undue influence on voters.
Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy made the observation while dismissing an election petition filed by former minister and DMK candidate R Rajendran, who challenged the victory of TVK MLA K Sivakumar in the Salem North Assembly constituency.
Rajendran argued that Vijay's appeal to children on April 24 to persuade their parents to vote for TVK candidates subjected voters to emotional and familial pressure, thereby materially affecting the election. He contended that the appeal amounted to undue influence, a corrupt practice under Section 123(2) of the Representation of the People Act, and sought to have Sivakumar's election declared void under Section 100(1)(d)(ii) of the Act.
Sivakumar had filed a petition seeking the dismissal of the election petition.
In an order passed on Thursday, Justice Chakravarthy said that even if the materials presented by Rajendran were true, exploiting familial bonds and emotions to sway voters could not be elevated to a level where adults' free will was overpowered.
“Accordingly, the plea (by Vijay), the children's consequential actions, and the adults’ disclosure and behaviour do not disclose a triable issue of undue influence,” the judge said.
The judge added that the election petition did not disclose grounds to nullify Sivakumar's victory.
However, he criticised the involvement of children in the campaign, describing the act as being “in bad taste” and saying the tasks they were allowed to perform reflected “poor parenting”. He also called the making of social media reels out of the exercise “cheap and politically motivated”.
“This is a larger debate for the nation and Parliament to consider, including whether to prohibit it or make it grounds to set aside the election,” the judge said.