Recovery of poll expenses: EC granted 6 weeks to file counter

When the public interest litigation moved by the PMK candidates from both the constituencies respectively came up for hearing at the Madras High Court, Election Commission counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan clarified that it had no powers to recover the expenses. But it was looking for ways to handle the issue effectively and asked for more time. 

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan on recording his submission granted six weeks’ time to file a counter. 

The pleas had contended that since the Election Commission had rescinded the elections based on the seizure of huge amounts from DMK candidate KC Palanisamy in Aravakurichi and V Senthil Balaji of AIADMK in Thanjavur, it was but natural that they had to bear the cost of the cancelled elections. 

They had further contended that they had spent both money and time during the campaign process and that they could not be made to suffer owing to the misconduct of the candidates. The plea also wanted the expenses incurred by both the State and the EC recovered, and both the DMK and AIADMK candidates debarred from contesting future elections.