The Election Commission has informed the Madras High Court that there is no evidence to support a complaint alleging postal ballots were wrongly sent to a different constituency in the Tiruppathur Assembly constituency election.
The case was filed by former minister Periyakaruppan (DMK), who lost by a single vote to T.Ve.K candidate Srinivasa Sethupathi. Periyakaruppan sought an order to restrain the winner from taking part in Assembly proceedings.
When the matter came up before a vacation bench comprising Justices L. Victoria Gowri and N. Senthilkumar, senior counsel G. Rajagopalan appeared for the Election Commission and submitted a report of Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik. He argued that the proper remedy is an election petition, noting that counting continued until midnight and no objections were raised at the time.
Periyakaruppan’s counsel, senior advocate N.R. Elango, disputed the claim that there was no supporting material, stating that the returning officer had conveyed information about a vote being misdirected. Counsel for Srinivasa Sethupathi also appeared. The bench reserved orders without fixing a date.
