Madras High Court dismisses case filed against Chennai Press Club elections

Justice G Jayachandran says court cannot interfere after the issuance of election notification

The Madras High Court on Wednesday (December 11, 2024) dismissed a case filed against the conduct of the election to the Chennai Press Club (CPC) on December 15 after a gap of 25 years since the last election was held in 1999.

Justice G. Jayachandran refused to entertain the suit filed by one of the CPC members T.M. Viswanaath. He said that the court could not interfere in the poll process after the issuance of election notification.

The judge advised the plaintiff to approach the court after the declaration of the results if he was still aggrieved with the poll process being undertaken now under the aegis of a Special Guidance Committee (SGC).

The 12-member SGC led by veteran journalist N. Ram had constituted a sub committee to finalise list of members and appointed retired High Court judge V. Bharathidasan as the Election Officer to conduct the polls.

Senior Counsel P. Wilson, assisted by Richardson Wilson, representing CPC, told the court that the election was being conducted after several years but one group of people, who had been squatting in the club for long, wanted to prevent the polls.

He also pointed out that the plaintiff had neither challenged the election notification nor the final voter list. In such circumstances, the court could not grant any injunction against the polls, he said.

Senior counsel R. Singaravelan, representing another CPC member who opposed the plea to stall the polls, too told the court that the election being held after a few decades should not be stalled.

Concurring with them, the judge dismissed the case and made it clear that the election process could go on uninterrupted.

Published - December 11, 2024 12:00 pm IST