TVK has challenged the Madras High Court’s interim order in the Supreme Court, restraining its MLA Srinivasa Sethupathi from participating in the Assembly confidence vote. Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
The plea was mentioned by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi at 2:45 pm on Tuesday before a bench led by Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant. The plea, which has been filed through Advocates Dixita Gohil, Pranjal Agarwal, Rupali Samuel, and Yash S Vijay, will be heard now on May 13.
The Madras High Court had earlier restrained Sethupathi after former DMK minister Periyakaruppan filed a petition on the election results, alleging irregularities in postal ballot handling during the Tirupattur constituency election, which Sethupathi reportedly won by a single vote.
The order came while hearing a petition filed by former Tamil Nadu Minister KR Periyakaruppan, who sought to restrain Sethupathi from assuming office as an MLA over allegations that a postal ballot vote had been altered.
According to the plea, a vote that was meant to be recorded in Tirupattur Constituency No. 185 was allegedly transferred to Tirupattur Constituency No. 50 in Vellore district. Periyakaruppan approached the High Court after the Election Commission allegedly failed to take action on the complaint.
During the hearing, the Election Commission submitted that, as per the rules, no action was required if a complaint regarding postal ballot discrepancies was received after the commencement of vote counting. The Commission also stated that not a single postal vote had been transferred to another constituency. The court, however, observed that there was sufficient evidence supporting the complaint submitted by Periyakaruppan.
The High Court subsequently restrained Srinivasa Sethupathi from participating in the upcoming Assembly confidence vote as an MLA. The court also directed that all postal ballots be kept safely secured and ordered preservation of the related video footage.
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