Thumb impression valid: Madras High Court dismisses PIL on poll nominations
Chennai: The Madras high court dismissed a petition challenging the validity of the Left Thumb Impression of AIADMK general secretary J.Jayalalithaa in the Form A and B of nomination papers filed by the party candidates for three state assembly constituency elections.
Dismissing the PIL filed by social activist ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R.Mahadevan said, “We may note that the petitioner is not a contesting candidate in the election process but seeks to obligate himself such kind of general public scrutiny merely because in various PILs he has been entertained”.
The bench said the additional solicitor general appearing for Election Commission of India has produced before the court a communication dated October 27, 2016 addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu in respect of the representation of the AIADMK regarding authentication of thumb impression of AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Forms A and B in terms of provision 13 of the Symbols Order for current election to the legislative assembly.
The ECI has specified the medical officer of any government hospital as the officer before whom the thumb impression may be affixed in Form A and B by her and who may attest such thumb impression. He also submitted that such an attestation has been done and the nomination papers have been filed, the bench added.
The bench had said the petitioner was aggrieved by the alleged non-examination of his representation dated October 29, 2016. The case of the petitioner was that the nominations filed in question for the purposes of allotment of symbol of the AIADMK party was through a process of affixation of thumb impression by the general secretary of the party who was hospitalised and may not be in a position actually decipher what was sought to be done. It was his further case that mere declaration by doctors must not be accepted as gospel truth and must be put to test and satisfy the public that the democratic process was not flawed in filing crucial election papers, the bench added.
The bench said, "In our view, it is for the ECI to verify the authenticity of the papers so far as the assignment of scrutiny is concerned and if there are any infirmities in the election process which makes the election capable of being challenged. That is a matter of election petition. We have already noticed that in the present case, the election symbol already stands allotted. We are not inclined to interfere. The present PIL filed in this behalf is dismissed".
