States » SouthPosted at: Oct 1 2026 8:22PM


Madras HC reserves order on plea to bar ECI from holding bypoll for five Assembly seats

Chennai, Oct 1 (UNI) The Madras High Court on Thursday reserved its orders on a plea barring the Election Commission of India (ECI) from holding by-elections for five Tamil Nadu Assembly seats until the pending election pleas are disposed off.
When the petition filed by one Venkatachalapathy from Palayamkottai from southern Tirunelveli district, was taken up for hearing for final arguments, the First Bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G.Arul Murugan, which has stayed the ECI from holding bypolls, reserved its orders today evening.
During the hearing that lasted for three days, Chief Minister Vijay sought to hold polls stating the constituencies should not remain vacant and the ECI opposing it.
The Central government, ECI and the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Secretariat were cited as respondents in the case. After the counsel for Vijay's arguments, the Assembly Secretariat said there was nothing more to add as it will wait till the disposal of the pending cases.
The Centre on its part, citing a union Home Ministry letter, said it was leaving it to the ECI to take a decision. The poll body, while objecting to Vijay's submission, said it would not hold the bypoll till the court disposes off the pending pleas and in its written submissions said there was no bar in holding bypoll to Perundurai seat as the Court has dismissed the plea. The ECI also said it would hold polls to the seat before November 24 if there was no further stay in it.
After final arguments extended by the ECI today, the Bench reserved its orders.
Announcement of bypolls were barred for Trichy East, Karur, Ambasamudram, Viralimalai and Perundurai Assembly seats, though seven seats, including Madurantakam, and Dharapuram also fell vacant. However, the ECI announced that bypolls for Madurantakam and Dharapuram would be held on October six and the poll process was in full swing.
Of the seven vacant seats, six were held by the AIADMK and one by Vijay, who is also the Founder President of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The Legislative Assembly Secretariat has since notified all the seven seats as vacant and had also communicated to the ECI paving the way for holding bypolls to these seats. Election petitions were filed challenging the victory of the candidates from five of the five seats.
While Trichy East fell vacant following the resignation of Vijay, who had won from two seats and chose to retain the Perambur seat in Chennai, the vacancy to Ambasamudram was caused by sitting MLA Esakki Subbiah and Perundurai fell vacant after incumbent legislator S Jayakumar quit the post. Karur and Viralimalai seats fell vacant following the resignation of sitting members and former AIADMK Ministers M.R.Vijayabaskar and Dr C Vijayabaskar respectively.
Madurantakam, and Dharapuram seats fell vacant after AIADMK MLAs Ms Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama quit their posts. All the six AIADMK MLAs, who had quit their seats after voting in support of the confidence vote moved by Vijay in the Assembly violating the Party Whip, have since joined the TVK.
Following the resignations, the AIADMK petitioned Speaker JCD Prabhakar not to accept the resignations of Maragatham Kumaravel, Sathyabama, Jayakumar and Esakki Subbiah as disqualification proceedings were pending against them, while unsuccessful DMK candidate Inigo Irudhayaraj has challenged Vijay's victory from Trichy East citing discrepancies in affidavits filed for the two seats prayed to declare his election as void and announce the petitioner as the winner.
The six former MLAs were are among 25 rebel legislators who had voted in favour of the TVK government during the confidence vote, violating the Party Whip. However, the AIADMK accepted the apology tendered by 21 of them and pardoned them following which the Speaker dropped the disqualification proceedings against them, while initiating it in respect of four others.
Later, the AIADMK petitioned the Speaker to disqualify two more former MLAs, C. Vijayabaskar and M.R. Vijayabhaskar who had later resigned from their assembly seats and joined the TVK. They duo were among the 21 legislators pardoned by the party High command. .
The party also moved the Madras High Court challenging the Speaker’s action in accepting the resignations of two Vijayabhaskars and issuing a notification on the vacancy of the seats in Viralimalai and Karur constituencies in addition to the earlier plea filed by former Minister and AIADMK Whip Agri S S Krishnamurthi, was pending. The court had tagged these petitions along with the other ones already filed against the acceptance of the resignation of four MLAs--Maragatham Kumaravel, S Jayakumar, P Sathyabama and Esakki Subbiah.
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Tags: #Madras HC reserves order on plea to bar ECI from holding bypoll for five Assembly seats
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