HC dismisses election petition against Jaya

The Madras High Court today rejected a petition filed by a city-based social activist challenging the election of AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa from R K Nagar Assembly seat here in a by-poll last year.
Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana dismissed the petition by "Traffic" Ramaswamy, a losing independent candidate in the June 27, 2015 by-election as he did not appear before the court.
He had alleged vitiation of the result through corrupt practices and abuse of official position.
Two separate petitions, including the one by Ramaswamy, were filed challenging the election of Jayalalithaa in the bye-election to the previous assembly held in the aftermath of her acquittal by the Karnataka High Court in a disproportionate wealth case.

The other petition was also filed by an independent candidate, Suresh Kumar, an advocate, whose nomination was rejected by the Retuning Officer of the constituency.
Dismissing the petition by Ramaswamy as default for non-appearance, the judge adjourned hearing on Kumar's petition by four weeks.
Kumar has submitted that even though he had fulfilled the norms and the procedures as per the rules of Representation of People Act, the Returning Officer had rejected his nomination on the ground that one of the ten proposers' addresses was wrongly mentioned.