CHENNAI: Admitting there were certain lapses in providing security to the counting centre located in Madurai Medical College, where the EVMs were stored, the Election Commission of India told the Madras High Court on Saturday that Dr S Natarajan, the Madurai District Election Officer and District Collector, had been transferred along with the Assistant Returning Officer. An ECI submission said S Nagarajan would replace Natarajan, and Shantha Kumar would replace ARO Guru Chandran with immediate effect.
Not fully satisfied, the special bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad, which had pulled up poll officials and police attached for the alleged lapses in security, recommended departmental action against the Assistant Commissioner of Police and his subordinates for failing to provide full security to the centre. The matter stands adjourned till April 30.
The bench, which has been hearing election-related issues, was passing interim orders on a public interest litigation petition from Su Venkatesan, the CPM candidate fielded by the DMK-led alliance for Madurai parliamentary constituency, who prayed for a direction to constitute a special investigation team to probe the illegal intrusion made by local Tahsildar Samboornam and others into the counting centre on April 20.
According to the petitioner, Samboornam, despite strict vigil, trespassed into the documents storage room on the evening of April 20 without any authority and remained there for three hours. Three more staff of Madurai Municipal Corporation accompanied her during her impermissible visit to the centre. Dr Natarajan, who is Returning Officer of Madurai Constituency, and Collector of Madurai, was wholly responsible for the incident, the petitioner contended.
The bench said when it was inclined to direct the ECI to transfer Dr Natarajan, his personal assistant (general) Mohandas, ACP (crime) in-charge of election duty and such other policemen, who allowed Samboornam and P Suryaprakash, an Assistant in Madurai Corporation and N Sivaraman, a Record Clerk in the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Excise to enter into storerooms and take documents, as per the report of the enquiry officer, ECI counsel Niranjan produced a letter dated April 27 stating that Nagarajan will replace Natarajan and Shantha Kumar will replace Guru Chandran with immediate effect.
“There is absolutely no action against the PA (general) of the Collector, who has ignited the incident, which caused breach of secrecy and security as per the provisions of the Election Laws and instructions. There is no action against the ACP and policemen who allowed Samboornam and others to enter the store room. No prosecution and departmental action has been taken against them,” the judges noted. “Therefore as to who is empowered to initiate disciplinary action or prosecution, against the erring officials, as the case may be, we direct the ECI to initiate disciplinary action or prosecution against the PA (general) to the Collector, Madurai and initiate action against others.”