The Hindu: Chennai: Monday, June 19, 2017.
Armed with a
response from the Election Commission of India under the Right To Information
(RTI) Act, a Chennai-based lawyer, M.P. Vairakkannan, has moved the Madras High
Court, seeking a direction to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Tamil Nadu,
and the Returning Officer of the Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency to
register an FIR against Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and others for
alleged electoral malpractices.
Hearing
likely tomorrow
The Election
Commission had said in response to an application filed under the RTI Act that
it had directed the registration of an FIR against Mr. Palaniswami, AIADMK
(Amma) deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran and four Ministers, in
connection with alleged bribing of voters in the R.K. Nagar Assembly
constituency.
In his plea,
Mr Vairakkannan sought a direction to the Chennai Police Commissioner to
investigate the matter and file a charge sheet. The petition is likely to come
up for hearing on Monday. The advocate said the Election Commission had
directed the CEO and the Returning Officer to file an FIR under Sections 171(B)
of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly distributing money on a large
scale to induce/bribe voters and to influence the by-election in Dr.
Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency.
The
Commission had also directed the CEO to ensure that quick and appropriate
action was taken by the Chennai Police Commissioner, the petition stated.
“However, so far, no FIR has been filed by the 2nd (CEO) and 3rd respondents
(RO) for reasons best known to them,” he said.
Though the
Election Commission directed the CEO and the RO to take appropriate action for
the commission of an offence punishable under the provisions of the Indian
Penal Code, they did not take any action and were “shielding the offenders for
political reasons,” the petition alleged.
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