The Madras High Court has declared the election of P. Ravindranath, the son of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Paneerselvan and the sole Member of Parliament from the AIADMK party, null and void. The court's decision came in response to an election petition filed by P. Milany, a voter from the Theni Constituency, who accused Ravindranath of suppressing his sources of income and bribing voters during the 2019 Constituency Election.
According to Milany, Ravindranath only disclosed his income from agriculture and business, while failing to mention the income he received as a director of a private company. Milany also presented a CD containing video evidence that allegedly showed voters being bribed during the election campaign. Despite Ravindranath's denial of the allegations, the court rejected his petition to dismiss the election petition.
Justice S.S. Sundar, the presiding judge, declared the election null and void, citing the suppression of assets, investments, sources of income, shares, financial loans, and liabilities in Ravindranath's nomination affidavit. The judge also noted that the Returning Officer did not conduct a thorough inquiry during the scrutiny of the nomination, which favoured the AIADMK candidate. As a result, the court concluded that the nomination of Ravindranath had been improperly accepted, leading to the nullification of his election.
However, the court granted a month's time to Ravindranath to appeal against the verdict, allowing him to approach the Supreme Court. Senior Counsel A.K. Sriram, representing Ravindranath, requested the court to keep the order in abeyance until the appeal process is completed, and the court agreed to the request.
Ravindranath's victory in the 2019 election had been a lone success for the AIADMK-BJP coalition, as the DMK-Congress alliance secured 38 out of the 39 seats in the state. Despite his expulsion from the AIADMK in 2022 due to his father's rebellion against Edappadi K. Palaniswami's leadership, Ravindranath remained the only MP representing the party in the Lok Sabha.
Source: Link
Picture Source :
