The Madras High Court on Thursday granted a plea filed by actor and Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni MLA Udayanidhi Stalin seeking to have an election case filed against him in the 2021 elections dismissed. The petition was submitted by one R. Premalatha, who claimed that Stalin had won the polls in .
While passing the orders, Justice V Bharatidasan noted that Udayanidhi Stalin had provided facts on the 22 criminal cases that were pending against him and that there was no evidence in the election petition to support the claims levelled against him.
It was the election petitioner’s contention that the MLA had not provided significant information in accordance with Form 26 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, that resulted in his defeat. She went on to claim that the MLA had conspired with the Presiding/section officer, who happened to be the MLA’s wife’s instructor, to rig the election.
Mr. Udayanidhi Stalin stated in his application to quash the election petition that the election petition was devoid of any material facts and that it was an abuse of the legal process and thus liable to be rejected. Mr. Udayanidhi Stalin was successful in his application to quash the election petition. His statement indicated that he had provided information on any criminal charges that were pending against him, and that he had complied with Section 33A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951, as required by law.
The election petitioner had claimed that the Presiding/Section Officer had collaborated with him, but Mr. Stalin said that the facts of the collusion had not been revealed. The petition does not provide any evidence of any action taken by the MLA that would indicate collusion on his behalf.
Case Title: Udayanithi Stalin v. R Premalatha
Case No: OA 40 of 2022 in ELP 12 of 2021
Published By: Ifa Zamzami
