Madras High Court refuses to reject plea filed by O. Paneerselvam challenging MP Navas Kani’s election

Madras High Court refuses to reject election petition challenging MP's victory, citing need for full-fledged trial.

The Madras High Court on Monday refused to reject an election petition filed by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam challenging the victory of Ramanathapuram Member of Parliament (MP) K. Navas Kani of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in the June 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Justice C.V. Karthikeyan dismissed an application filed by the MP to reject the election petition and held that that the veracity of the allegations regarding suppression of facts, in the election affidavit filed by the MP, could be ascertained only if a full-fledged trial was conducted by the High Court. “The parties must be granted an opportunity to put forward their views by gracing the witness box. It would not be an exercise in futility (as claimed by the MP in his plea to reject the election petition at the threshold) but rather it would be a venture to discover the correct facts,” the judge observed.

In his election petition, Mr. Panneerselvam had accused the MP of having not disclosed in his election affidavit that he was the director in S.T. Couriers Private Limited, Madras Media Private Limited and Pelita Nasi Kandar Private Limited and the remuneration that he was receiving from those enterprises.

The election petitioner had also wondered how the MP could have obtained a loan of ₹91.75 lakh from his son, as claimed in the affidavit filed along with the nomination papers, when the latter’s income in the last five years was only around ₹20 lakh. Therefore, he sought to set aside the election on the ground of false declaration.

Justice Karthikeyan held that the genuineness of the allegations could be found out only on analysis of oral and documentary evidence to be adduced by both sides during the course of trial. He said the MP could produce evidence to disprove the allegations , instead of seeking to reject the election petition in limine.

Following his expulsion from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Mr. Panneerselvam had contested the election from Ramanathapuram constituency as an independent candidate supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission of India had allotted him ‘jackfruit’ symbol.

Interestingly, five other independent candidates with the name of Panneerselvam contested in Ramanathapuram in 2024 thereby creating an apprehension of great confusion being caused among the voters while exercising their franchise. Further, AIADMK candidate Jayaperumal was also in the fray with the ‘two leaves’ symbol.