HC upholds DMK candidate's election

The Madras High Court today upheld the election of DMK candidate R T Arasu from the Cheyyur (SC) Assembly constituency in Kanchipuram district in the 2016 Assembly polls.
A Munusamy of the AIADMK, the defeated candidate, had sought a direction for recounting of postal votes and to declare Arasu's election as null and void.
The DMK candidate had won by a margin of 304 votes. Arasu had secured 63,446 votes while Munusamy 63,142.
The petitioner alleged that the counting of votes was not done properly, especially during the 19th round, and postal ballots were also not counted properly.
The petitioner submitted that counting of postal votes and the electronic machines were done simultaneously.

He submitted that the Returning Officer failed to comply with Rule 54(A) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which prescribes that results of postal ballot votes have to be declared first, before counting of votes in the electronic voting machines.

Senior counsel for Arasu argued that the petitioner has not even stated at what time the postal ballots were counted and who his counting agents were during the counting of the votes in the EVMs in the 19th round.
Dismissing the petition, Justice P N Prakash said the election petitioner has not made out a clear case for recount.

"..the averments contained in the election petition being vague and not eligible for being put on trial by leading evidence, nothing survives for adjudication in this election petition. Accordingly, this election petition is dismissed.