HC asks ECI to explain action taken on plea on one-vote loss

Chennai: Madras high court on Sunday directed the ECI to explain action taken on the complaint made by former DMK minister K R Periyakaruppan, who lost the just-concluded 2026 assembly election by one vote to TVK candidate Srinivasa Sethupathi.Periyakaruppan contended that one postal ballot of Tirupattur in Sivaganga district, where he contested, was mistakenly sent to Tirupattur district. Instead of returning it to the actual constituency it belongs to, the returning officer of Tirupattur rejected the postal ballot.Conducting a special sitting on Sunday, a division bench of Justice L Victoria Gowri and Justice N Senthilkumar questioned why ECI failed to act on the complaints and representations made by the petitioner.Rejecting the contention of the ECI that it has become functus officio (completed its duty of conducting election), the bench directed the commission to file a report on the action taken on the petitioner's complaint on Monday."How can you (ECI) say you have become functus officio when the primary issue is on the ballot," the bench wondered.Representing the petitioner, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi contended that, considering the fact that the victory margin is one vote, if the postal ballot was returned, it would have made a huge difference in the poll outcome. The postal ballot must be returned and counted, he added.Senior counsel N R Elango, also representing the petitioner, submitted that the election laws do not contemplate such a situation, and so this is an extraordinary situation and the court must exercise its extraordinary powers.Opposing the plea, senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and V Raghavachari who represented the TVK candidate Srinivasa Sethupathi and contended that the prayer sought in the petition can be raised only in an election petition and not in a writ petition."It is a clever camouflage used for seeking an injunction on legislative participation of the elected person instead of filing an election petition," Abhishek Singhvi said. How does a mandamus lie in the case? The interim relief sought is far beyond the scope of the main petition, Raghavachari added.ECI also submitted that the declaration of the election was already concluded and hence it can be challenged only through an election petition.