Election case against MK Stalin: SC questions evidence

Delhi: In an appeal against the election of M.K. Stalin in the Kolathur constituency in the 2011 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the Supreme Court strongly objected to the petitioner, Saidai Duraisamy, failing to submit relevant documents and evidence.

A Supreme Court bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi heard the appeal filed by DMK’s M.K. Saidai Duraisamy, who contested and lost against AIADMK MLA Stalin, on Wednesday.

Senior advocate Tama Seshastri Naidu, representing petitioner Saidai Duraisamy, argued that: In the 2011 elections, when the DMK distributed booth slips, it engraved its election symbol on them. Election rules prohibit the issuance of booth slips. He also stated that the distribution of money, gifts, distribution of booth slips, and election symbols were all recorded on video.

The judges then said: “You say CDs and video evidence have been submitted, but which videos? You haven’t shown us which evidence. You haven’t provided evidence or documents to prove what you believe is contradictory in the High Court’s decision.”

Is it right to waste time like this? Is it right to appear in court without proper preparation? Don’t waste our time. We can easily dismiss this case. When we raise questions, they raise one question after another, asking if you should provide the necessary evidence immediately.

At that point, Saidai Duraisamy’s lawyer requested the judges to give in and postpone the case until the next day (February 12th).

This further angered the judges, who said, “Will you do in one day what you haven’t been able to do in two months? We can’t drag this case out for weeks. We will finish this case on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week,” and postponed the case until the following Tuesday.

In the 2011 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Saidai Duraisamy, the AIADMK candidate from Kolathur, lost to Stalin by 2,739 votes. Subsequently, Saidai Duraisamy filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking to have his victory declared invalid, alleging that Stalin had violated election rules by distributing money to voters and engaging in malpractices.

In 2017, the Madras High Court dismissed the election petition, stating that allegations of malpractices against Stalin, such as bribery and misuse of government machinery, had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.