6 hours ago
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The Madras High Court has directed Chennai territory predetermination serviceman (the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner) to stock certified copies of the accepted arsenic good arsenic rejected information papers and affidavits of Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin truthful that a defeated campaigner successful the constitutency could situation his predetermination wrong the statutory bounds of 45 days.
A Division Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan issued the absorption portion allowing a writ petition filed by P. Milany of Theni territory who had contested successful Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency but mislaid to Mr. Udhayanidhi. Even earlier the declaration of the results connected May 4, 2026, the petitioner had sought definite certified copies from the Returning Officer (RO).
He had made representations to the RO connected April 20, 2026 and April 27, 2026 seeking certified copies of each objections raised during the scrutiny of information papers connected April 7, 2026 and besides a certified transcript of Form 7A (list of contesting candidates). The petitioner further requested to furnish him the certified copies of the accepted affidavits of Mr. Udhayanidhi and 5 different candidates.
The RO replied that the objections received against the nominations and Form 7A had been displayed connected the announcement board. In truthful acold arsenic the affidavits filed by the candidates were concerned, the writ petitioner was informed that they could beryllium either downloaded from the Election Commission of India (ECI) website oregon obtained from the District Election Officer who would consolidate each specified affidavits.
After the declaration of the results, the petitioner made yet different practice to the RO connected May 15, 2026 and again connected May 20, 2026 seeking certified copies of the accepted arsenic good arsenic rejected information papers of the returned candidate, the orders passed by the RO rejecting the nominations of 15 candidates, the objections received by the RO for assorted nominations and the orders that were passed overruling those objections.
The RO did not respond and hence the petitioner chose to attack the High Court. On May 27, 2026, the Bench led by Justice Swaminathan ordered announcement to the ECI and sought its effect by May 29, 2026 since it was an predetermination substance that had to beryllium dealt with urgently. The counsel for the ECI relied upon a 2024 circular and claimed that the certified copies could beryllium issued lone aft 45 days signifier the day of declaration of results.
After signaling his submission, the judges reserved their verdict connected May 19, 2026 and pronounced the orders successful the lawsuit connected June 8, 2026. They held that the ECI could not beryllium heard to accidental that the documents could beryllium issued lone aft 45 days erstwhile the Representation of the People Act, 1951 strictly mandates that predetermination petitions indispensable beryllium filed wrong 45 days from the day of declaration of results.
“If the Election Commission of India were to clasp each the documents till the play is implicit and thereafter they furnish them to the petitioner, then, his close to determination the tribunal would successful itself beryllium rendered negatory... Accordingly, this writ Petition is allowed. The 2nd responsive is directed to contented a certified transcript of the predetermination papers arsenic sought for by the petitioner,” the judges ordered.
Just earlier they pronounced the orders, the ECI counsel informed the tribunal that the certified copies of each documents sought by the writ petitioner had been issued to him by mode of email connected June 6, 2026. The tribunal was besides told that a hard transcript of those certified documents would besides beryllium handed implicit to the writ petitioner’s counsel J. Vinoth by June 9, 2026. The judges recorded this submission astatine the extremity of their order.
