Madras High Court Dismisses M.K. Stalin’s Plea Challenging Kolathur Election Result
The Madras High Court has dismissed a writ petition moved by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M.K. Stalin challenging the election outcome in the Kolathur Assembly constituency. The plea had sought a complete tallying of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) paper slips and requested the court to declare him elected in place of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA V.S. Babu.
What Happened
A First Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan rejected the writ petition on maintainability grounds on Thursday, September 3, 2026. The petition had urged the court to nullify the victory of TVK candidate V.S. Babu and mandate a 100% verification of VVPAT slips from the Kolathur constituency.
Opposing the plea, senior counsel G. Rajagopalan and Dama Seshadri Naidu, representing the Election Commission of India (ECI), contended that an election result can only be contested through a formal election petition, not through a writ petition under extraordinary jurisdiction. The ECI argued that allowing election outcomes to be challenged via writ petitions would open the floodgates to similar litigations from candidates across various constituencies.
Senior counsel V. Raghavachari and advocate Pranjal Agarwal, representing TVK MLA V.S. Babu, also opposed the writ petition before the Bench.
Key Highlights
- Plea Rejected: The Madras High Court declined to entertain M.K. Stalin’s writ petition challenging V.S. Babu’s victory in Kolathur, holding it not maintainable.
- Statutory Process Cited: The ECI maintained that election results can only be legally questioned via an election petition.
- Stalin’s Explanation on Delay: Stalin stated that he could not submit an election petition within the mandatory 45-day statutory window due to delays by the ECI in verifying the microcontrollers in 5% of the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
- Verification Details: The former Chief Minister had sought verification of 14 of the 286 EVM sets used in Kolathur under a 2024 Supreme Court ruling permitting the runner-up or third-place candidate to seek checks within seven days of the results.
- Timeline of Events: Results were declared on May 4, 2026, and the request was submitted three days later. However, the ECI carried out the manufacturer verification between July 29, 2026, and August 5, 2026.
- Allegations of Irregularities: The petitioner’s representative, senior counsel N.R. Elango, reported coming across several anomalies in the EVM sets during the inspection process.
Why This Matters
The decision reinforces the strict procedural framework established for challenging assembly election results. Stalin’s legal team argued that the petitioner could not be left without a legal remedy when the delay in completing the microcontroller verification beyond the 45-day limitation period was caused by the election authority rather than the candidate.
What to Watch Next
Following the dismissal of the writ petition on grounds of maintainability, any further legal recourse or appeals by the petitioner regarding the Kolathur election dispute would depend on subsequent filings before an appropriate legal forum.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did M.K. Stalin file a writ petition instead of an election petition?
Stalin stated that he was unable to file an election petition within the 45-day statutory limit because the ECI delayed the checking and verification of the burnt memory and microcontrollers in 5% of the EVM sets used in the constituency until after the deadline had passed.
What did the Election Commission of India argue?
The ECI submitted that election results must exclusively be challenged via an election petition and that entertaining writ petitions for this purpose would set a precedent leading to numerous similar petitions flooding the court.
What relief had the petitioner sought?
The petitioner had sought a 100% count of VVPAT slips in the Kolathur Assembly constituency, the nullification of TVK MLA V.S. Babu’s victory, and a declaration declaring Stalin as the elected representative.
Source: Based on reporting from The Hindu.