HC notice to ECI on plea against AIADMK, DMK nominees

The Madras High Court today ordered issue of notice to the Election Commission of India on a petition, seeking to forbear it from assigning registered symbols to AIADMK and DMK candidates for the November 19 bypolls to Aravakurichi constituency.
The first bench, before which the PIL by one S Rajendran of Karur district came up, ordered issue of notice to ECI.
The bench also directed the High Court registry to tag the PIL with an identical petition pending before it, in which a prayer was made to collect all the expenses incurred in the run up to the election from the candidates.

The court then posted the matter for further hearing to November 7, 2016.
Rajendran had submitted that the poll to Aravakurichi constituency was cancelled during the May 16 assembly polls due to large-scale corrupt practices allegedly adopted by then candidates Senthil Balaji of AIADMK and K C Palanisamy of DMK.
He had said the EC's May 14 order concluded that all moneys seized and gifts recovered in the constituency were meant for distribution to electors in the form of illegal inducement.

Rajendran said the candidates should be debarred from participating in the election and that if they were allowed to contest again, "it may amount to help the fence eating the crops."

The petitioner stated he had made a representation in this regard to the ECI and other election officials to reject their nomination, but nothing had come of it.
Along with Aravakurichi, EC had also cancelled polls in Thanjavur constituency in May last due to corrupt practices.