The Madras High Court on Wednesday questioned the maintainability of a public interest litigation seeking the immediate transfer of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s secretary, IAS officer P. Umanath, by the Election Commission.
The petition was filed by BJP advocate Mohandas from the Choolaimedu area. He alleged that with the Model Code of Conduct in force, the officer was functioning in a manner that violated election norms and that allowing him to continue could erode public confidence in the electoral process.
The petitioner also contended that while several IAS and IPS officers had been transferred, the Chief Minister’s private secretary should not be allowed to continue without scrutiny. He sought a review of the officer’s administrative actions, police-related coordination and orders, and also requested examination of office and personal phone calls, with the Election Commission to act on related complaints.
A bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan asked how the court could take up the PIL when no documents were filed to substantiate the allegations against the IAS officer. The bench also noted that even though the Election Commission was acting on complaints, the officer had not been impleaded as a respondent.
On the petitioner’s request for time to add Umanath as a respondent, the bench adjourned the hearing.
