Chennai: The Madras High Court has dismissed with costs, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking direction to the Election Commission to file a report on the Vote Theft charges levelled by Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
The First Bench comprising Chief Justice M M Shrivatsava and Justice G Arul Murugan dismissed the PIL filed by lawyer Venkata Sivakumar and imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on him.
The Judges said the Supreme Court was already seized of by the matter and that the PIL was meant for publicity and dismissed it with costs.
Observing that the ECI was free to take its own decisions on the issue, the court directed that the Rs 1,00,000, cost imposed on the petitioner should be paid to the Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority.
Observing that the PIL was misconceived and lacked concrete material, the Court said it was
filed based only on allegations and counter-allegations made on certain platforms.
The petition was vague and devoid of material details and particulars and contended that no
such direction to “clarify its position” could be issued to the Election Commission.
In the PIL, Sivakumar sought a direction to the ECI to clarify its stand on the charges levelled by Mr Rahul Gandhi and file a status report to ensure transparency, public confidence and the constitutional mandate of free and fair elections.
UNI
