CHENNAI: Extending the interim stay on announcing bypolls to five constituencies that fell vacant after Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay resigned, and the AIADMK candidates who won from the remaining four seats resigned and joined the ruling TVK, the Madras High Court said on Tuesday that the final hearing of the case would be held on September 28.

The bench comprising Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan said this when former Perundurai MLA S Jayakumar's counsel informed the court that the election petition challenging his victory had already been dismissed and sought vacation of the stay on the proposed bye-election.

K Venkatachalapathy from Tirunelveli had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the High Court seeking to restrain the Election Commission of India from notifying and conducting bypolls in Tiruchy (East), Perundurai, Viralimalai, Karur, and Ambasamudram Assembly constituencies.

The petitioner contended that conducting bye-elections before the disposal of the pending election petitions would render the proceedings infructuous, defeat the statutory rights of the election petitioners under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and frustrate the purpose of adjudicating election disputes.

After hearing the parties, the bench had observed on July 10 that until an election petition is decided, the Election Commission's obligation to conduct a bye-election remains suspended.

The court held that conducting premature bye-elections would burden the public exchequer and could lead to a constitutional anomaly by resulting in two validly elected representatives for the same constituency. The bench, therefore, restrained the Election Commission from issuing notifications for bye-elections in these five constituencies.

When the PIL was again listed before the bench, the senior counsel appearing for Jayakumar submitted that the election petition challenging his victory had already been dismissed and added that the stay on the bye-election should therefore be vacated.

After hearing the submissions, the judges said they would wait for a copy of the order passed by Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy on Tuesday before deciding whether to lift the stay on announcing the bye-election in the constituency. The bench then extended the interim stay on announcing the bypoll and said the final hearing of the case would be held on September 28.