CHENNAI: Holding that the election petitioner failed to establish the allegations of corrupt practices against the winner, the Madras High Court has rejected an election petition seeking to nullify the victory of S Jayakumar, who had switched to TVK from AIADMK after resigning the post, in the Perundurai Assembly constituency.
Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the orders on applications filed by Jayakumar seeking to reject the election petition.
The election petition was filed by Thoppu Venkatachalam @ ND Venkatachalam, who had contested as a DMK candidate but recently quit the party. Apart from seeking to nullify Jayakumar’s victory, he had also prayed for declaring him the winner.
Perundurai is one of five vacant constituencies for which bye-polls were stayed by the HC on a PIL seeking to restrain the Election Commission from holding the bye-elections until the election petitions were decided by the court.
Rejection of the election petition clears the way for holding the bye-elections, depending on whether the petitioner files an appeal against the order in the Supreme Court.
“The pleading relating to corrupt practice suffers from the vice of being too vague, not providing an opportunity for the returned candidate (winner) to counter the charge effectively and specifically,” Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy said in the order passed on Tuesday. He allowed the applications filed by Jayakumar for rejecting the election petition and striking off certain paragraphs containing the allegations in the petition.
He reasoned that, in the absence of the said pleadings, the election petition with reference to the corrupt practice of bribing voters does not disclose a cause of action and, as such, the petition is liable to be rejected.
Referring to the allegations regarding violation of the orders of the election authorities and the Election Commission of India, the judge said they were “incomplete and vague” and therefore could not be sustained.
Advocate AP Suryaprakasam appeared for Jayakumar.
The main allegations of Venkatachalam were that Jayakumar’s supporters distributed `1,000 each to voters with his consent and knowledge; cash was seized from a person who had AIADMK symbols in his possession along with currency notes and an FIR was registered; and a group of AIADMK women canvassed without permission.
