Stories
High Court Reserves Judgment on Ban of By-Elections in 5 Constituencies
- •The Chennai High Court has indefinitely reserved its judgment in the case seeking a ban on by-elections in 5 constituencies, including Trichy East.
- •Venkatajalapathy from Tirunelveli filed a PIL seeking to ban by-election announcements for constituencies with pending election cases.
- •The High Court had previously issued an order on July 10, banning the announcement of by-elections for the 5 constituencies.
- •The Election Commission stated it is ready to implement court orders and has not yet decided on conducting by-elections, noting a six-month period is available.
- •Senior lawyer for Chief Minister Vijay argued that declaring the second-place candidate as winner is only valid if only two candidates contested.
Key Questions Answered
The Chennai High Court has reserved its judgment indefinitely regarding the public interest litigation that seeks to ban by-elections in five constituencies, including Trichy East. The petitioner filed the case to prevent by-elections while election disputes remain pending.
A PIL was filed arguing that occurrences of casual vacancies triggered by resignations do not automatically constitute clear or available vacancies for holding by-elections while election petitions are pending. The petitioner contended that holding by-elections prematurely could risk having dual representatives if courts later declare the runner-up as the winner.
The five assembly constituencies involved in the legal challenge are Trichy East, Ambasamudram, Perundurai, Karur, and Viralimalai. These seats became vacant after the winning candidates, including Chief Minister Joseph Vijay who vacated Trichy East, resigned following the assembly elections.
