The Madras High Court on Tuesday rejected an election petition challenging the election of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA N Elaiyaraja from the Uthangarai Assembly constituency.
Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy allowed Elaiyaraja’s application seeking rejection of the election petition filed by voter C. Geetha. The Court’s order brought the challenge to the MLA’s election to an end at this stage.
Background of the Case
Geetha had earlier approached the High Court after claiming that her name was deleted from the electoral roll for Uthangarai. She had sought restoration of her name, stating that the deletion affected her attempt to contest the 2026 Assembly election.
The High Court had earlier held that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process prescribed a specific period for filing claims for inclusion in the electoral roll. The Court found that she should have sought inclusion within the prescribed timeline.
The issue was also taken to the Supreme Court, which declined to interfere with the High Court’s decision.
Elaiyaraja subsequently won the Uthangarai (SC) constituency with 70,201 votes, defeating AIADMK candidate T.M. Tamilselvam by 5,198 votes. The Madras High Court had earlier issued notice to Elaiyaraja in the election petition filed by Geetha.
Court’s Observation
While considering Elaiyaraja’s application, the High Court noted that Geetha’s grievance regarding deletion of her name from the electoral roll had already been dealt with in the earlier proceedings.
The Court observed that although the earlier order had granted her liberty to pursue an available legal remedy, it had clearly held that she was required to seek inclusion of her name within the timeline prescribed under the SIR exercise.
Decision
Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy allowed Elaiyaraja’s application and rejected the election petition.
“In the result, application filed to reject the election petition, stands allowed. Consequently, Election Petition stands rejected,” the Court said in open court.
The detailed order is awaited.
