Chennai, Aug 1:
The Madras High Court on Friday extended till August 24, barring the Election Commission of India (ECI) from holding by-elections to five Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu.
The High Court extended the stay pending disposal of the election petitions filed against those who have won from these seats.
During the earlier hearing on July 10, the Court issued notices to the ECI and other respondents–the Central Government, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Secretary and Chief Minister Vijay seeking their replies–and barred the poll body from holding elections till today (July 31).
When the petition filed by one Venkatachalapathy from Palayamkottai from southern Tirunelveli district, was taken up today evening, the First Bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan extended the stay till August 24.
Announcement of bypolls were barred for Trichy East, Karur, Ambasamudram, Viralimalai and Perundurai Assembly seats, though seven seats, including Madurantakam, and Dharapuram fell vacant.
Of the seven seats, six were held by the AIADMK and one by Vijay, who is also the Founder President of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The Legislative Assembly Secretariat has since notified all the seven seats as vacant and had also communicated to the ECI paving the way for holding bypolls to these seats. Election petitions were filed challenging the victory of the candidates from these five seats.
While Trichy East fell vacant following the resignation of Vijay, who had won from two seats and chose to retain the Perambur seat in Chennai, the vacancy to Ambasamudram was caused by sitting MLA Esakki Subbiah and Perundurai fell vacant after incumbent legislator S Jayakumar quit the post. Karur and Viralimalai seats fell vacant following the resignation of sitting members and former AIADMK Ministers MR VIjayabaskar and Dr C Vijayabaskar respectively.
Madurantakam, and Dharapuram seats fell vacant after AIADMK MLAs Ms Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama quit their posts. All the six AIADMK MLAs, who had quit their seats after voting in support of the confidence vote moved by Vijay in the Assembly violating the Party Whip, have joined the TVK.
Following the resignations, the AIADMK petitioned Speaker JCD Prabhakar not to accept the resignations of Maragatham Kumaravel, Sathyabama, Jayakumar and Esakki Subbiah as disqualification proceedings were pending against them.
The six former MLAs were are among 25 rebel legislators who had voted in favour of the TVK government during the confidence motion floor test. However, the AIADMK accepted the apology tendered by 21 of them and pardoned them following which the Speaker said disqualification proceedings were dropped against them, while it was initiated in respect of four others. Later, the AIADMK petitioned the Speaker to disqualify two more former MLAs, C. Vijayabaskar and M.R. Vijayabhaskar after they defied the party whip during a trust vote and later resigned from their assembly seats and joined the TVK.
The party also moved the Madras High Court challenging the Speaker’s action in accepting the resignations of two Vijayabhaskars and issuing a notification on the vacancy of the seats in Viralimalai and Karur constituencies and the plea filed by former Minister and AIADMK Whip Agri S S Krishnamurthi was pending before the court, which had tagged these petitions along with the other ones already filed against the acceptance of the resignation of four MLAs–Maragatham Kumaravel, S Jayakumar, P Sathyabama and Esakki Subaya..