S. M. NASAR Vs. PANDIA RAJAN K.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner challenges the declaration of the first respondent as the successful candidate in the Elections for the State Legislature held on 16/5/2016. The first respondent was declared as the successful candidate and the margin of difference was about 1395 votes. The petitioner seeks a declaration that the election of the first respondent to No.6 Avadi Assembly Constituency in the elections held on 19/5/2016 as illegal and void and consequentially declare the petitioner as the elected candidate.

(2.) The grounds on which the petitioner seeks the above declaration are that the first respondent has indulged in corrupt practices and other electoral offences viz., non disclosure of actual expenses, bribery, promotion of hatred and enmity on the grounds of caste, transportation of voters, making false statements against the petitioner, use of official machinery for election purposes, etc. The petitioner also claims that the election officials have indulged in several irregularities, viz., failure to reverify the postal ballots, discrepancies in Form 17-C and announcement about the Prime Minister, congratulating the Former Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa.

(3.) The substantive allegations in the petition are that the first respondent has indulged in corrupt practices by bribing voters and failing to disclose the actual expenses. There has been an improper rejection of votes. Appeals have been made to the voters on communal lines, voters have been transported to the booth on the polling day, there has been an excess expenditure of about Rs.28,00,000.00, and Government Servants have been engaged for campaigning. The first respondent has paid for advertisement through digital media like bulk emails, SMS, whatsapp messages, voice calls etc., and those expenses have been suppressed in the returns filed before the Special Observer.