Chennai: On the eve of the scheduled floor test in the state assembly, a special bench of the Madras High Court reserved its order on Monday regarding the plea filed by former DMK minister K R Periyakaruppan. He lost to TVK candidate Srinivasa Sethupathi by a single vote in the assembly election.
The bench, comprising Justice L Victoria Gowri and Justice N Senthil Kumar, concluded the hearing and reserved its orders. Periyakaruppan alleged that a postal ballot from Tirupattur in Sivaganga district, where he contested, was mistakenly sent to Tirupattur district. Instead of forwarding it to the correct constituency, the returning officer for Tirupattur rejected the postal ballot. Consequently, he sought an interim order to prevent Srinivasa Sethupathi from taking oath as an MLA.
Earlier, senior advocate G Rajagopalan argued that once the election is over and results are declared, the Election Commission ceases to hold office, and any relief can only be sought through an election petition. He explained that postal ballots can only be opened on the day of counting, and after that period expires, no relief can be granted. In response, senior advocate N R Elango contended that the petitioner filed the plea because there is no remedy available in the legislation. The bench noted that the matter concerns the voting rights of the individual who cast the postal ballot. The petitioner further alleged that the mistake was made by the Election Commission of India in wrongly sending a postal ballot from one constituency to another.
