Madras High Court Reserves Order on Tiruppattur Election Dispute

The Madras High Court has reserved its order regarding a legal challenge to the Tiruppattur Assembly constituency election results. The dispute follows a razor-thin victory by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam MLA R. Seenivasa Sethupathi, who won the seat by a single vote, receiving 83,375 votes compared to 83,374 for Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate K.R. Periyakaruppan.

Sethupathi filed a plea seeking the rejection of an election petition brought by Periyakaruppan, arguing that the challenge fails to provide material facts or a cause of action as required by the Representation of the People Act. Periyakaruppan contends that the result was materially affected by irregularities, specifically citing an 18-vote discrepancy in electronic voting machine records, errors in the counting of postal ballots, and the wrongful rejection of a misdirected ballot.

Justice G. K. Ilanthiraiyan reserved the order after hearing arguments from both parties. The court's decision will determine whether the petition alleging these discrepancies will proceed or be dismissed.