SC Stays Madras HC Order Restraining MLA From Floor Test

 New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed an interim order of the Madras High Court restraining R. Sreenivasa Sethupathi from participating in a floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, terming the direction “atrocious”.

A three-judge Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi observed that the High Court had erred in entertaining a petition under Article 226 despite holding that the appropriate remedy lay in an election petition.

“This is atrocious to say the least. The High Court says the remedy is election petition but still entertains the Article 226 petition,” the Bench said.

The apex court issued notice on Sethupathi’s plea challenging the May 12 interim order and stayed both its operation and further proceedings before the High Court.

The High Court had restrained the MLA from voting or participating in proceedings testing the numerical strength of the House, including a floor test, pending further orders.

The dispute arises from the No.185 Tirupattur Assembly constituency in Sivagangai district, where Sethupathi defeated K.R. Periakaruppan by a margin of one vote.

Periakaruppan had approached the High Court alleging irregularities in counting, including rejection of a postal ballot allegedly sent to a different constituency and discrepancies in electronic voting machine data.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sethupathi, contended that the High Court order disregarded earlier Supreme Court rulings. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Periakaruppan, argued that the rejected postal ballot could have resulted in a tie.

The Supreme Court granted two weeks to respondents to file counter affidavits and directed filing of rejoinders thereafter.

The interim restraint on the MLA stands lifted following the apex court’s order, with the matter pending further hearing.