HC slams TNSEC, wants ‘real’ winner as panchayat chief

Chennai

The Madras High Court, on finding that the election process for the president of Kumalankulam panchayat under Cuddalore Panchayat Union has been subverted by illegal means to favour the losing candidate, has quashed the same after holding that the election process even for panchayats must be recognised and given the same importance as of elections to form the government at the State or the Centre.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh, holding that there was a clear interference in the election process from some unseen hand, who wanted the losing candidate to be declared the successful candidate and not the petitioner who had won, said: “When this became legally impossible due to the overwhelming materials, the TN State Election Commissioner (TNSEC) has chosen to cancel the very election itself by pointing out some discrepancy in the forms.” “But the materials show that it is not a case of any discrepancy in forms but a clear case of an attempt being made to materially alter statutory forms and subvert the entire election process,” the judge said.

As per the case, the petitioner R Jayalakshmi was allotted ‘autorickshaw’ symbol and her rival candidate Vijayalakshmi ‘lock and key’ and both had canvassed only with the allotted symbols. Thereafter, after the counting on January 2, the former was declared elected, securing 2,524 votes, while the latter polled 1,478 votes. But on the same day, in a turn of events, the Election Officer declared Vijayalaksmi as the panchayat president as if she had contested under ‘autorickshaw’ symbol.

While the High Court was moved in this regard, TNSEC on June 22, passed an order declaring the election as null and void citing discrepancy in the allocation of the symbol in Form 4 and 9 and that a fresh election would be held at a future date. This impugned order was also challenged by the petitioner.

However, Justice Anand Venkatesh, on holding that a careful perusal of the pleadings and Form 4 filed before this court makes it clear that the candidates did not have any doubt whatsoever with regard to the symbol and the subsequent confusion is clearly self-inflicted for extraneous considerations due to some interference by an unknown hand, directed TNSEC to declare the petitioner as the elected candidate within a week.