The Supreme Court on Wednesday closed the long-pending dispute arising from the 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly election in Radhapuram, Tirunelveli district, where former Speaker Appavu lost by 49 votes.
In the 2016 polls, Appavu contested on a DMK ticket and was defeated by AIADMK candidate Inbathurai. Appavu later moved the Madras High Court challenging the result, arguing that around 300 postal ballots were rejected during counting due to an issue related to a headmaster’s signature.
The Madras High Court had directed that the postal ballots be produced and recounted, and also ordered that the electronic voting machines from the last three rounds be handed over. Inbathurai challenged this order before the Supreme Court, while Appavu sought an early hearing.
Hearing the matter before a bench led by Justice B.V. Nagarathna, the Supreme Court observed that the 2021 and 2026 Assembly elections have already been completed, making it unnecessary to keep the 2016 election case pending. The court therefore closed the case, while instructing that appropriate orders be passed in the related proceedings pending before the Madras High Court.
The bench also noted that the legal question of whether an intermediate school headmaster can sign as an election officer would be examined in an appropriate manner in another election case.
