{
  "id": 9680552,
  "title": "Madras HC dismisses PIL seeking mechanism to recover bypoll cost",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/madras-hc-dismisses-pil-seeking-mechanism-to-recover-bypoll-cost",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-25T02:25:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times",
    "slug": "hindustan-times",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/madras-hc-dismisses-pil-seeking-mechanism-to-recover-bypoll-cost-101790277960778.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "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",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}