Tanya Gupta
Published on: March 7, 2022, at 18:07 IST
The Triumph of an Independent Candidate in an Election which was altered in the “Draw of Lots” was affirmed in a recent Decision given by the Madras High Court.
In the Case of “R. Palaniselvi Vs. Tamil Nadu State Election Commission & Ors,” R. Palaniselvi was the Petitioner who ran for the T Kallupatti Town Panchayat’s 10th Ward.
Allegedly, she was victorious in the Draw of Lots after acquiring the same number of Votes (284 in the Draw of Lots) as her Opponent, her name was flashed as the Winner, but reportedly the Result was changed later.
The Standing Counsel for the State Election Commission was asked to produce the CCTV Footage in relation to the aforementioned Allegation. Failing to comply the consequences would be severe.
After the Footage was presented before the Court, the Bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy culminated,
“As per the Videograph, the Draw of Lots was in favour of the Petitioner and accordingly, the result should have been declared and maintained. The Allegation by the Petitioner is regarding the Change of the Result of the Election, which is getting pro serious.”
The Election Commission was Ordered by the Court to immediately initiate action against the Accused Officer of the State Election Commission and further Ordered the Officer to be presented before the Court.
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