Chennai, Aug 13:
The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted two weeks time till August 25, for Tamil Chief Minister and TVK Founder Vijay to file petitions seeking dismissal of election petitions challenging his victories in the Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East Assembly constituencies.
In the Perambur constituency, DMK candidate R.T.Sekar, who lost to Vijay, and voters Dinesh and Lakshmi Narasimman approached the High Court, challenging his victory and the Court had earlier directed Vijay to file his responses to these petitions.
When the cases came up for hearing before Justice V. Lakshminarayanan today, senior counsels G. Masilamani and Srinath Sridevan, appearing for Vijay, said their client proposed to file petitions seeking dismissal of the election cases filed against him.
The senior counsels sought four weeks’ time to file the petitions and requested that the proceedings in the election cases be adjourned.
However, Justice Lakshminarayanan declined to grant the requested four-week adjournment and directed him to file the petitions before the next hearing and posted the cases for August 25.
The court also took up an election petition challenging the victory of PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna from Villivakkam constituency in Chennai and that too was adjourned to August 25.
During the earlier hearing on July 21, the Court ordered fresh notice, returnable by two weeks, to the Chief Ministerchallenging his election from Perambur constituency.
Vijay was elected from two seats–Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchy East. However, he chose to retain the Perambur seat and resigned from Tiruchy East following which it was notified as vacant.
Vijay was elected from Perambur with a margin of 53,715 votes. He polled 1,20,365 votes, while his nearest rival, R.T.Sekar of the DMK, received 66,650 votes.
Challenging his victory, the petitioners alleged that Vijay had furnished inconsistent and incomplete information in his nomination papers, particularly regarding his assets and pending cases. They also sought to declare his election invalid on these grounds.
Taking note of the submission that notice had not been successfully served on Vijay and the election authorities named as respondents in the case, Justice Lakshminarayanan had ordered that fresh notice be issued to the Chief Minister and other respondents, including the election officer and adjourned the matter by two weeks.
In his petition, Sekar also pointed to use of children in campaigning which is contrary to express directions of the ECI, discrepancies in Form 26, including two contradictory notarial attestations in his Trichy East and Perambur affidavits as if he was before both notaries on the same day, Wrong filling up for Part-B of his Form 26 affidavit where he has not disclosed his income tax dues, not accounting
for expenditure incurred in social media campaigns, including the use of the Route PR agency, incurring of expenditure in excess of prescribed expenditure which is a corrupt practice under section 123 (6) of the Representation of People’s Act, campaigning inside a church and temple which is a corrupt practice under section 123 (3) of the RP Act, not properly complying with ECI directives on C1, C2 and C7 Forms publication.
In the plea, Sekar also wanted that he should be declared as the elected candidate
Unsuccessful DMK candidate Inigo Irudhayaraj too has challenged Vijay’s election from Trichy East on the same grounds. He contended that despite his resignation, the election petition is maintainable since Vijay’s very election was illegal. He has also sought a stay on holding by-elections for the constituency pending disposal of the election petition since he has sought to be declared as the elected candidate.
The petitions seeks to declare Vijay’s elections void and declare the petitioner as the returned candidate.
This plea was also adjourned to August 25.