Chennai, Sept 16:
The Madras High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the by-elections to the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies, but transferred a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the polls to the Chief Justice’s Bench for consideration. The matter has been posted for further hearing on September 18.
The PIL was filed by Saidapet-based advocate K Suthan, who questioned the need to hold by-elections after elected MLAs resigned from their posts shortly after the Assembly elections and sought measures to ensure financial accountability in such cases. The Election Commission has scheduled the bypolls in Madurantakam (SC) and Dharapuram (SC) for October 6.
When the case came up before a Division Bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and Krishnaswamy Govindarajan, counsel for the petitioner argued that the resignations had resulted in an avoidable situation in which another election had to be conducted within a short period of the general election. The petitioner contended that public money would again have to be spent for an election necessitated by the resignation of representatives who had been elected by the voters.
Referring to the short interval between the general election and the resignations, the petitioner submitted that voters had been forced to face another election almost immediately after exercising their franchise. He argued that the issue involved not merely the individual right of an MLA to resign but also the rights and interests of the electorate and the financial burden arising from a fresh election.
The judges observed that an MLA has the right to resign from the post. At the same time, they questioned whether there were any rules or mechanisms available with the Election Commission to address situations in which an elected representative resigns without an apparent compelling reason soon after being elected.
The Bench observed that when a person elected by the people resigns without an appropriate reason, it affects the mandate given by the electorate. The judges questioned whether the Election Commission had any mechanism to protect the interests of voters in such circumstances and observed that the issue required consideration.
However, the judges made it clear that since the Election Commission had already issued the election notification, it would not be possible at this stage to stay the by-election process. The court therefore declined to grant the immediate relief sought by the petitioner.
In view of the legal issues involved and the pendency of the related proceedings before the Chief Justice’s Bench, the judges decided to transfer the present PIL to that Bench. The matter has been posted for hearing on September 18.