The Madras High Court has temporarily barred the Election Commission of India (ECI) from notifying byelections for five Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies—Tiruchi East, Perundurai, Ambasamudram, Viralimalai, and Karur—until July 31, citing pending election petitions that challenge the victories of the resigned representatives.

Legal Grounds for the Interim Order

A public interest litigation (PIL) filed by K. Venkatachalapathy of Tirunelveli argued that conducting byelections before resolving the petitions could create a scenario where constituencies are represented by two individuals if the petitions succeed. The PIL contends that the vacancies cannot be deemed "clear" under Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as they remain subject to judicial outcomes.

The petitioner’s counsel, V R Shanmuganathan, cited three Supreme Court rulings—Sanjeevayya vs ECI (1967), ECI vs TRS (2011), and Pramod Laxman Gudadhe vs ECI (2018)—to assert that byelections are impermissible while election petitions are pending. The petitions in question not only challenge the winners’ victories but also seek to declare the petitioners as the rightful representatives.

Government and ECI’s Stance

Advocate General Vijay Narayan, representing the Legislative Assembly Secretary, distinguished between resignations filed before and after election petitions were submitted. He noted that Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay resigned from Tiruchi East on May 10, while his rival’s petition was filed later. Senior counsel G Masilamani, for the Chief Minister, questioned the PIL’s locus standi, calling it premature since the ECI had not yet issued any byelection notification.

ECI counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan stated the commission was unaware of the petitions’ details, as it had not received court notices. The Bench, however, emphasized that matters concerning democratic integrity warrant a broad interpretation of locus standi. The court granted respondents until July 31 to file counter affidavits, with final orders reserved after examining the nuances of vacancy timelines versus petition filings.