The Madras High Court has directed the Election Commission to file a report by May 11 on why it did not respond to a complaint submitted by DMK candidate Periyakaruppan, who lost by a single vote in the Tiruppathur Assembly constituency in Sivaganga district.
In the recent Assembly election, TAVEK candidate Srinivasa Sethupathi was declared the winner from Tiruppathur, with Periyakaruppan finishing second. The margin of victory was just one vote, and the Election Commission officially announced the result and issued the winning certificate.
Challenging the outcome, Periyakaruppan approached the High Court, alleging that a postal ballot meant for Sivaganga district’s Tiruppathur constituency was wrongly sent to Tiruppathur constituency in Tiruppathur district. He sought a direction to include that vote in the constituency count and also requested that Srinivasa Sethupathi be restrained from participating in Assembly proceedings until the issue is resolved.
The matter was heard as an urgent case by a vacation bench comprising Justices L. Victoria Gowri and N. Senthilkumar. The judges asked whether the Election Commission has laid down procedures for such situations and questioned why the complaint was not answered, directing the Chief Electoral Officer to submit a report and posting the case to May 11.
