Petitions challenging the alleged distribution of gift coupons and tokens to voters by DMK and AIADMK candidates are scheduled to come up for hearing before the Madras High Court on Thursday (April 17).
Before a bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan, advocate Shyam Kumar submitted that in the Chennai Harbour constituency, QR-code tokens worth Rs 10,000 were being distributed on behalf of AIADMK candidate R. Manohar, allegedly to facilitate cash payments to voters.
In a similar submission, advocate A.P. Suryaprakash claimed that DMK candidates were distributing coupons worth Rs 8,000 to voters, and sought directions to the Election Commission to take steps to prevent such distribution.
After hearing the submissions, the judges indicated that if petitions were filed, they would be taken up for hearing the same day. Subsequently, advocates K. Ravindran and A.P. Suryaprakash filed separate petitions on Wednesday evening, leading to the matter being listed for hearing on April 17.
