A Division Bench comprising Justices S Sounthar and PB Balaji, after hearing the matter, directed the ECI and the state government to file their responses and adjourned the case to June for further hearing.

S Devadoss Gandhi Wilson (senior citizen, aged 61), a resident of Valasaravakkam, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Madras High Court. In his plea, he stated that government employees engaged in election duty and essential services, including transport staff, were unable to return to their hometowns and could not effectively utilise the postal ballot facility. In Chennai district alone, only 32,447 out of 52,047 postal votes were cast, leaving over 17,000 votes unpolled, the petitioner noted.

He also alleged that the lack of government buses during the eve and day of the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls held on April 23 caused widespread inconvenience across districts, triggering public outcry.

He contended that inadequate transport services and issues in postal ballot casting prevented lakhs of voters from exercising their franchise. He further stated that poor coordination by the State Transport Department and the Southern Railway in making adequate travel arrangements prevented the achievement of 100% voter turnout. He, therefore, sought a direction to constitute a commission to inquire into these lapses.