Chennai

The directive came from a division bench comprising Justice TS Sivagnanam and Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup, on hearing a petition moved by S Tamilarasan, a resident of Echankuppam village in Villupuram.

The petitioner submitted through his counsel Mohanakrishnan that the electoral officials in Villupuram district had deleted the names of himself and his family members from the voters’ list to benefit a particular candidate who contests Echankuppam village panchayat elections. He further said the respondent officers had included the names of under-aged school students and people who have voting rights in other constituencies.

“We came to know that, to support a particular candidate contesting in our panchayat, names of some eligible voters including myself and my family members were removed without any inquiry,” the petitioner submitted. He said the omission was made due to the influence of one candidate who is contesting the election.

Government Pleader P Muthukumar submitted that for now all the processes related to the elections are complete and the first phase is taking place on Wednesday.

After hearing the submissions, the bench said it could not pass any orders as the elections have started.

However, it advised the SEC to avoid bogus voting and directed checking of documentary evidence before letting voters exercise their franchise.

Nine newly carved districts are undergoing the rural civic polls in two phases. While the first phase was completed on October 6, the second phase will take place on October 9.

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