The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest petition seeking a stay on the by-elections to the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies.
The petition, filed by advocate Sudhan of Saidapet, Chennai, argued that some MLAs resign soon after election results for political reasons and then contest the ensuing bypolls, effectively disregarding the voters’ mandate.
He also sought directions to the Election Commission to frame rules requiring such candidates to deposit an amount to cover election expenditure at the time of filing nominations, and requested that the bypoll process be halted until the case was decided.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan rejected the request to stay the bypolls. The court also declined to impose a five-year bar on resigned MLAs contesting elections, observing that such measures would require legislation through Parliament or the State Legislature.
