Madras HC dismisses election petition against TN Minister KA Sengottaiyan

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed an election petition challenging the victory of Revenue Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan from the Gobichettipalayam Assembly constituency in the recent Tamil Nadu election.

Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan passed the order while hearing an application filed by Sengottaiyan seeking the rejection of the election petition instituted by defeated AIADMK candidate Prabhu.

Sengottaiyan had contested the Assembly election from Gobichettipalayam on a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) ticket and emerged victorious. Following the formation of the TVK government, he was appointed the state Revenue Minister.

Challenging the election result, Prabhu approached the High Court alleging that Sengottaiyan’s nomination papers had not been legally attested. The AIADMK candidate claimed that the licence of the notary advocate who certified the nomination documents had expired before the papers were submitted.

Prabhu argued that the returning officer should not have accepted a nomination form certified by a notary whose authorisation was allegedly no longer valid.

He contended that the acceptance of the papers had affected the validity of Sengottaiyan’s candidature and subsequent election from the constituency.

In response, Sengottaiyan filed an application seeking dismissal of the case without proceeding to a full trial.

His counsel maintained that the grounds raised by the defeated candidate were insufficient to sustain an election petition and did not disclose a legally valid cause of action for setting aside the result.

When the matter came up for hearing, lawyers representing Sengottaiyan and Prabhu presented detailed arguments on whether the election petition should be allowed to proceed.

Counsel for the minister urged the court to accept his application and reject the election challenge at the preliminary stage.

The minister’s side maintained that the allegation concerning the notary advocate’s licence could not, by itself, invalidate either his nomination or his election.

Prabhu’s counsel opposed the application, arguing that the issue surrounding the attestation of the nomination papers required judicial examination. His side insisted that the original election petition raised a valid dispute about compliance with nomination procedures.

After considering the rival submissions, Justice Ilanthiraiyan allowed Sengottaiyan’s application and dismissed the election petition filed by Prabhu.

The ruling removes the legal challenge to Sengottaiyan’s election, enabling him to continue representing Gobichettipalayam in the Tamil Nadu Assembly and serving in the state Cabinet.

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