TN Local Body Polls: Returning Officer Admits To Tampering With Results Due To External 'Pressure', Madras HC Asks To File Affidavit

The returning officer of Ward No.10 of Kallupatti in Madurai District has submitted before the Madras High Court that he illegally modified the election results and declared a DMK candidate as the winner due to external pressure by a group of persons.

The First Bench comprising of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy was hearing a case filed by an independent candidate named R. Palaniselvi who claimed to have won the urban local body polls in Ward No. 10. The court had earlier taken cognisance of the grave allegation against the Returning Officer and the DMK Candidate K. Subbulakshmi, who changed the result of the election after its declaration.

During the last hearing, the court had mandated the Returning Officer who was suspended by the State Election Commission to appear before the Court. Taking note of the manipulation in changing results, the bench has directed the Returning Officer to file an affidavit detailing the entire incident as well as details about the persons who allegedly exerted undue pressure upon the former. The affidavit must be submitted to the court within ten days. The DMK candidate who was declared as the winning candidate may also file a counter-affidavit to the writ petition within ten days, the court clarified.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on 18th March, 2022.

"After the filing of an affidavit by the Returning Officer before this Court, this Court would pass further order in the matter, as we are not closing it, though the result as per the draw of lots has been declared and the petitioner is held to be the winning candidate for Ward No.10", the court noted in the order.

The crux of the writ petition filed by the independent candidate is that she was initially declared as the winning candidate for Ward No.10 of T.Kallupatti, Madurai District. She was declared as the winning candidate after the draw of lots since both the petitioner and the fifth respondent DMK candidate had secured 284 votes each. However, after declaring and flashing the name of R. Palaniselvi as the winning candidate, her name was withdrawn and the DMK Candidate was declared as the winner. The petitioner also submitted that 

At this juncture, the court directed the Counsel appearing for State Election Commission to produce the CCTV Footage that covers the draw of lots and declaration of results. It is pertinent to note that the Madras High Court had recently instructed the State Election Commission to cover the entire process of urban local body polls through CCTV Cameras.

On 3rd March, the footage was produced before the court and it was found that the petitioner's allegations were prima facie true and there has been tampering of the election results. As a result, the court had asked the State Election Commission to keep the suspended Returning Officer present on the next date of hearing.

Case Title: R.Palaniselvi v. The Tamilnadu State Election Commission & Ors.

Case No: W.P.(MD) No.3794 of 2022

Click Here To Read/ Download Order