Madras HC dismisses PIL seeking mechanism to recover bypoll cost
The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, to create a mechanism to recover the cost of by-elections from MLAs who voluntarily resign from their seats soon after winning and to impose a five-year bar on them contesting subsequent elections
The Madras High Court recently rejected a petition seeking a mechanism to recover costs from legislators who resign from their seats after winning by-elections. A bench led by Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan dismissed the PIL, stating new provisions could not be introduced through a judicial order.
The petitioner, K Suthan, argued that the cost of by-elections should be recovered from the resigning MLAs, but the court disagreed, noting that this would require legislative action. The court also rejected the idea of a five-year bar on legislators contesting elections, emphasizing that it is a matter of legislative policy, not judicial direction.
The court cited the Supreme Court's 2002 judgment, which recognized the Election Commission's power under Article 324 but did not create new disqualifications.
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