Madras High Court Reserves Order On Maintainability Of Plea Challenging AIADMK Intra-Party Elections

The bench of Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu was hearing the plea filed by J. Jayachandran, who claims to be a party member for more than 30 years, seeking the Election Commission of India (ECI) to reject the validity of polls conducted yesterday.

Advocate NGR Prasad, appearing for the petitioner argued that the projection of AIADMK functionaries O. Paneerselvam and Edappadi K Palanisamy as leaders who got elected to the party office unopposed, was bogus. It is alleged that they prevented others from filing their nominations.

"The matter pertains to intra-party elections of a political party registered within the ambit of the Representation of People's Act, 1951 and not the membership to a club...If there is no order within a party, how would there be order in the parliament where the members of the party get elected to?" argued the counsel.

When there were fixed dates and processes for filing nomination, scrutiny, withdrawal of nomination before 7th December, the organisational polls to the two posts were conducted in a rush and results were declared hastily by the Election officers, he added.

Maintainability of Writ Petition

Prasad referred to the case of Board Of Control For Cricket v. Cricket Association Of Bihar & Ors, and argued that whereas BCCI was not "State" within the meaning of Article 12, however it was amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the Court under Article 226 of the Constitution, as it was discharging important public functions.

Invoking the same analogy, it was argued that AIADMK may not be a local body but as a prominent party, it performs important public functions that require constitutional surveillance. Though remedy under Article 32 of the Constitution is not available, remedy under Article 226 can be invoked, argued the counsel for the party member.

Alternate Remedy

Prasad relied on All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam v.The State Election Commissioner (2007) to assert that the alternative remedy can be exercised before Election Commission only if the elections were properly conducted.

It was the submission of the petitioner that injustice of a huge magnanimity has been meted out by the conduct of organizational polls and subsequent declaration of results on 6^th December. Thus, it was urged that the case demanded bypassing of the alternative remedy due to the monstrosity of situation rendered by the illegal elections to the party posts.

While the case was taken up today, the bench asked the counsel for the petitioner the reason why the Election Commissioner of India was impleaded as a party in the petition.

"What is the relevance of Election Commissioner in the internal elections of a party?", the court asked the counsel. It further clarified that such an enquiry by the court is necessary to ascertain the maintainability of the writ petition before it.

The petitioner counsel responded that the role of Election Commissioner is to uphold the larger canvass of democracy, be it elections to a local body or an organizational poll.

The petitioner also intends to challenge the revised bye-laws of the AIADMK Party that allowed elections to the post of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator by primary members of the party (through single vote system for both posts), unlike the previous process involving solely the General Council members.

"There are violations in the organisational elections that can even cost the party its symbol", concluded Advocate NGR Prasad.

Last Friday, Justice Abdul Quddhose refused to grant an interim injunction on the organisational polls set for 7^th December.In a plea filed by KC Palanisamy, former AIADMK MP who was ousted from the party, the court had also mentioned that if any illegalities in the election come to the notice of the court subsequently, the election could probably stand cancelled.

Case Title: J.Jayachandran v. The Election Commissioner Of India & Others.

Case No: WP/26171/2021 (Election)

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