Madras HC Issues Notices to CM Joseph Vijay and Minister Aadhav Arjuna
The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered notices to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna on a batch of election petitions challenging their recent election victories. The legal challenges specifically concern the election outcomes in the Perambur, Trichy East, and Villivakkam Assembly constituencies.
Admitting the pleas, Justice V Lakshminarayanan issued notices to the Chief Minister, the PWD Minister, and the relevant election authorities. The petitions challenge the validity of the election victories based on alleged violations of the election code during the campaign period.
The legal challenges against Chief Minister Vijay have been filed by multiple petitioners. The petitions concerning these election results have been moved by DMK’s Perambur candidate R D Shekar, S Dinesh, and Lakshmi Narasimhan. Similarly, DMK’s Trichy East candidate S Inigo Irudayaraj has moved the court to challenge Chief Minister Vijay’s election victory specifically in the Trichy East constituency.
According to the petitioners, Chief Minister Vijay violated the election code during a campaign speech he delivered on April 21. The petitioners allege that in his campaign speech, Vijay made an appeal to children, asking them to tell their parents and other family members to vote for the TVK. They argue that this appeal violated the election code, which strictly prohibits the involvement of minors in election campaigns.
In a related challenge, the election victory of PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna is also being contested in court. The petitions challenging Aadhav Arjuna’s election were moved by DMK’s candidate Karthik Mohan and another individual named R Sivaraj. These petitions concern the contested election outcome in the Villivakkam Assembly constituency.
By formally admitting these election petitions and issuing notices to the political leaders and the relevant election authorities, the Madras High Court has initiated the formal legal process to examine the validity of these election victories.
