Coimbatore civic poll results will be affected by outcome of case alleging cash for votes: HC 

State Election Commission directed to explain actions taken on complaints

The Madras High Court on Monday ordered that the result of the Coimbatore Corporation election shall be subject to further orders by the court on a writ petition that alleged that there was rampant distribution of cash to voters by almost all parties. The court also ordered a notice to the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC) and wanted to know about the action taken on the complaints.

Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the interim orders on the case filed by the Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam, Covai. The organisation had filed another writ petition last week and obtained an order to the Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner to consider its representation seeking permission to campaign against cash for votes during the polls.

During the urgent hearing of its present petition on Monday, the court was informed that it was allowed to campaign for only one day before the polling held on Saturday and that almost all parties bribed the voters freely. In its affidavit, the petitioner organisation said, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) could not win even a single seat in Coimbatore district during the 2021 Assembly elections.

Hence, it had become a matter of prestige for both the DMK and its rival the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to win the urban local bodies poll in the district. The result of the fight between the two parties was free flow of cash and distribution of valuable articles such as anklets, sarees and utensils to voters in attempt to purchase their franchise, the petitioner alleged.

Unable to withstand the competition from the political parties, many independent candidates too had ventured into luring voters by distributing cash, it added. Though bribing of voters was an offence under the Indian Penal Code and amounts to corrupt practices under the Representation of the People Act, no effective action was taken by the TNSEC, the litigant body claimed.

It alleged that the commission, for namesake, acted only in a few incidents of bribing, which attracted the attention of the media. Claiming to have made a representation to the Coimbatore Corporation Election Officer on February 16, with a plea to stop the election forthwith, the petitioner said, there was no response to its plea, and the corrupt activities continued even on the day of polling.

Therefore, the petitioner urged the court to nullify the election held for the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and constitute a committee, headed by a sitting judge of the High Court, to probe the incidents of distribution of cash to the voters.