New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to DMK working president M.K. Stalin on a petition challenging the Madras high court judgment upholding his election from Kolathur Assembly constituency in 2011. A Bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and S.A. Abdul Nazeer issued notice on the SLP filed by Saidai Duraisamy of AIADMK who was defeated in that election. The Bench after hearing Counsel Jayant Muthu Raj posted the matter for final hearing in January 2018.
In his appeal Mr Duraisamy said that in Kolathur constituency, main election manager on behalf of Mr Stalin was the Mayor of Chennai city municipal corporation Mr Ma. Subramaniam. During that time, the corporation of Chennai was also controlled by majority of DMK councillors. Therefore considering the presence of Mayor of Chennai, Chennai corporation officials deployed for election duty, the DMK party safely fielded him in Kolathur constituency, so as to commit all the illegal acts to ensure Mr Stalin's success.
The appellant said that in the said election Mr Stalin used his officials, his party men and money power in Kolathur Constituency during the time of election Campaign, after filing the nomination. Currencies were distributed rampantly to procure votes, voters were induced with a promise of providing material objects, official machineries were misused, money were spent more than the allotted amount, model code was violated, media under the control of his family members were used to defame and malign the character of the appellant.
It is further submitted that after committing all illegalities and corrupt practices, Mr Stalin and his henchmen with his direction manipulated counting of votes. Even during the time of counting on May 13, 2011, the Returning Officer and counting officials were calculatedly deployed from the corporation of Chennai at the instance of Mr Stalin and his main Election Campaigner, Mayor of Chennai Ma. Subramanian helped and committed irregularities violating all the orders and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India for his success. Supplementary counting was conducted surreptitiously. It is submitted that by manipulations, Mr. Stalin was declared as successful returned candidate on May 13, 2011, from Kolathur constituency by a margin of 2,739 votes. He prayed for quashing Stalin's election.
