The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a writ petition filed by DMK president M.K. Stalin challenging the election result in the Kolathur Assembly constituency, where he was defeated by TVK candidate V.S. Babu.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan held that Stalin’s petition was not maintainable. Details of the order are awaited.
In his petition, the former chief minister had alleged irregularities in the voting process, claiming that verification of 14 electronic voting machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines had revealed discrepancies. He had sought the re-verification of all 286 EVMs and VVPAT machines used in the constituency.
The petition also sought a recount of votes, besides asking the court to set aside Babu’s election and declare Stalin the winner.
Appearing for Stalin, senior counsel Kapil Sibal submitted that his client had filed an application on May 7 seeking post-counting checking and verification of the EVMs. However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted the exercise only on July 29, resulting in a delay of 45 days, he argued.
Representing the ECI, senior counsels G. Rajagopalan and Dama Seshadri Naidu argued that the writ petition was not maintainable. They submitted that Stalin’s appropriate legal remedy was to file an election petition under Section 80 of the Representation of the People Act.
Stalin, a three-time MLA from Kolathur, lost the seat to Babu by 8,795 votes, as the TVK, led by actor-politician C. Joseph Vijay, made significant gains across Tamil Nadu. Babu attributed his victory to Vijay’s leadership and the anti-incumbency factor.
