Vijay asks Madras High Court to clear way for five Assembly by-polls
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, has asked the Madras High Court to remove its interim restriction on the Election Commission announcing by-elections in five Assembly constituencies.
The party’s counsel argued that a petition filed by a person who neither contested the elections nor voted in any of the five constituencies should not be allowed to hold up the poll process.
The vacancies concern Tiruchi East, Perundurai, Ambasamudram, Viralimalai and Karur. The seats fell vacant after the elected MLAs resigned following the 2026 Assembly elections, which were held on April 23 and counted on May 4.
Election petitions challenging the results in the five constituencies are already before the High Court.
The court had earlier directed the Election Commission not to notify the bypolls while those cases remain pending. The restriction was based on concerns that a by-election could create a legal complication if an election petition later resulted in a different candidate being declared the winner.
The petition seeking the restriction was filed by K Venkatachalapathy of Tirunelveli. During the latest hearing, senior advocate G Masilamani, appearing for Vijay, challenged the maintainability of the petition.
He pointed out that the 2026 Assembly election involved 4,023 candidates across 234 constituencies, with 80 candidates contesting in Karur alone. According to him, Supreme Court principles dealing with election petitions cannot automatically be extended to every situation involving multiple contestants.
Masilamani also argued that Venkatachalapathy was neither a candidate nor an elector in any of the five constituencies and therefore lacked the necessary standing to seek the relief.
Court records identify Venkatachalapathy as a registered voter in Tamil Nadu and a practising advocate, although he is not registered as an elector in the five constituencies involved in the dispute.
Senior counsel representing former minister M R Vijayabhaskar also raised concerns over the possibility of the constituencies remaining without elected representatives if the election petitions take a long time to conclude.
Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in D Sanjeevayya, he argued that the legal principle concerning a conflict between an election petition and a subsequent by-election should be applied only within its proper scope.
The Supreme Court case involved an election petition in which the petitioner sought both cancellation of the returned candidate’s election and a declaration that another candidate had actually been elected.
The Madras High Court had relied on that principle while imposing the initial restriction on the five bypolls.
The Election Commission is expected to make its submissions before the High Court on Wednesday, September 30. The court will then consider whether its interim order preventing notification of the by-elections should remain in force.