Madras high court rejects plea to stop ex-min from canvassing for his wife

Chennai: The Madras high court has dismissed a petition seeking a direction to the authorities to prohibit former AIADMK Minister and disqualified MLA Balakrishna Reddy from participating and canvassing in favour of his wife Jyothi in the ensuing by-election to the Hosur Assembly constituency.

A division bench comprising Justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad dismissed the petition filed by V. Pugazhendhi, an independent candidate contesting from Hosur.

According to the petitioner, Balakrishna Reddy was convicted and sentenced to undergo 3 years RI in a riot case. Subsequently, the sentence was suspended and he was granted bail. However, following his conviction, he had to step down from the public office, which he was holding and his post had fallen vacant.

The AIADMK nominated his wife Jyothi to contest in the bye-election. Although he was not an official candidate from his party, he was posing as the official candidate nominated by his party and actively participating in the election activities from filing of nominations and he was also canvassing along with his wife. But the election commission has failed to take action against him, he added.

Dismissing the petition the bench, while referring to section 8 of the Representation of the People Act dealing with the disqualification on conviction for certain offences, said that no rule or regulation from the Model Code of Conduct has been pointed out by the counsel for petitioner prohibiting a convicted person from canvassing for a candidate in an election. RPA only speaks about disqualification of a convicted person in the election. Further no provision in the RPA or the MCC has been pointed out prohibiting the convicted person canvassing on behalf of other candidates and in this case, it was the wife of Balakrishna Reddy was contesting, the bench added.