The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : High Court declines to interfere in poll process

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Friday, Oct 06, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

High Court declines to interfere in poll process

Special Correspondent

Dismisses petitions challenging rejection of nominations

CHENNAI : The Madras High Court has declined to interfere with the ongoing civic process and has dismissed a number of writ petitions challenging "improper rejection" of nomination or refusal to allot election symbols of candidates' choice.

"It is an admitted fact that the elections to local bodies have been notified and the process is on. In this context, it will be difficult to interdict the process with any order of this court so as to stultify the elections," said Justice K. Chandru, dismissing 13 petitions filed by candidates from various parties.

While some of them alleged that their nomination papers had been improperly rejected after scrutiny, others, assailing the removal of their names from the voters list, prayed for inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls and the ballot papers.

Poll process

Article 243-ZA and Article 243-O of the Constitution "have imposed a restriction in interdicting the poll process when the process is on," Mr. Justice Chandru said, adding that the provisions had relegated the affected parties to have recourse to the mode of Election Petition after the process is completed.

Citing various Supreme Court rulings, he said, "it is needless to state that Section 258 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act 1994 and Section 51-A of the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act 1920 have clearly provided the remedies of the Election Petition before an appropriate forum."

Underlining the self-restraint consistently exercised by various courts in such matters, the Judge told counsel for the petitioners that they could prove their claim of improper rejection of their nominations in the Election Petition and avail themselves of the consequential benefit.

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