Shivani Gadhavi –
Published On: December 15, 2021 at 18:30 IST
The Madras High Court quashed a Writ petition in public interest which challenged the organizational election polls of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) where O Paneerslevam and K Palaniswami were elected as Coordinator and Joint Coordinator of the Party on December 6, 2021.
The Petitioner J Jayachandran had moved a Plea to the Madras High Court alleging that the election was organized in an arbitrary manner where only O Paneerselvam and K Palaniswami were allowed to file nominations for contesting in the elections.
The Petitioner sought a direction from the Court to the Election Commision of India to not recognize the two as elected.
The High Court Bench of acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu stated, “The petitioner would harp on the issue of democratic values to be maintained by the political party but could not refer to any provisions whereby the ECI can have a role so as to pass appropriate direction on the relief prayed for by the Petitioner.”
The Bench further stated, “The objection raised by the petitioner that the elections to the posts of coordinator and joint coordinator of the AIADMK were held without adopting democratic procedure cannot be countenanced, as the ECI is not empowered to go into the internal elections of a political party.”
The Petition was found not to be maintainable as the Election Commission of India has no Jurisdiction to interfere with the internal elections of a political party, not even on the grounds of Article 324 of the Constitution which empowers the Election Commission of India in regards with elections and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Also Read: Charges against Devendra Fadnavis in Election Affidavit Case