Madras High Court Blocks By-Elections for Five Vacant Assembly Seats

The Madras High Court has restrained the Election Commission of India from notifying by-elections for five vacant Legislative Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu. The ruling by the court's First Bench temporarily halts the election process following a wave of resignations by newly elected legislators.

The political shift began after the state's general elections were held on April 23, with results announced on May 4. Shortly after being sworn in, several legislators resigned from their posts, sending shockwaves across the political spectrum.

Four AIADMK MLAs—Maragatham Kumaravel from Madurantakam, S Jayakumar from Perundurai, P Sathyabama from Dharapuram, and Esakki Subiah from Ambasamudram—abruptly resigned from both their seats and their party membership.

They were followed by former AIADMK Ministers C Vijayabaskar from Viralimalai and M R Vijayabhaskar from Karur, who also resigned. Both former ministers had recently been in the news for graft charges and raids conducted on their premises. The resigning politicians planned to defect to the TVK and contest the resulting by-elections in an attempt to join the ruling party.

Additionally, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay vacated his Trichy East seat, choosing instead to retain the Perumbur constituency. This left a total of seven seats vacant in the state.

However, the Madras High Court stepped in to halt the by-election process for five of these seats. The court noted that rival candidates had filed election petitions challenging the original election results. If these petitions are found to have merit, the court could declare the rival candidates as the actual winners.

To avoid such conflicts, the High Court directed the Election Commission of India not to hold by-elections for the five disputed seats, even if they remain vacant beyond the stipulated six-month period. Under this verdict, by-elections are expected to proceed only in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies.