Chennai : The Madras High Court on Thursday dealt a blow to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin by rejecting his petition challenging the election of TVK candidate VS Babu from Kolathur in the 2026 Assembly elections. Stalin had lost the constituency to Babu by 8,795 votes.
The DMK chief, in his petition, alleged irregularities in the voting process. He sought verification of 14 EVM sets – representing 5% of the 286 EVMs in the constituency – as per a mechanism laid down by the Supreme Court. Stalin applied for verification on May 7, three days after the election result was declared on May 4, where Vijay’s TVK emerged as the single largest party. However, Stalin pointed out in his writ petition that the verification process began only on July 29.
The former chief minister said the verification of 14 EVMs and VVPAT machines revealed discrepancies. In his plea, Stalin sought re-verification of all 286 voting machines used in Kolathur. The plea also urged the court to declare VS Babu’s election void and Stalin the winner. During the hearing, the Election Commission (ECI) objected to the plea, arguing that Article 329 (b) of the Constitution barred courts from entertaining a challenge to an election except through an election petition.
Sibal argued that the alleged irregularities in the EVMs came to light only after the verification exercise was carried out. He further flagged that it was done after the 45-day limitation period for filing an election petition was over. “While I file the application within five days, we open the machines after 45 days. So how could I file an election petition?” Sibal said, according to a report in Bar and Bench. The poll results were a major setback to the veteran Tamil Nadu leader.
Read Also : ISRO’s ‘Naughty Boy’ Takes Centre Stage Tonight: Can GSLV-F17 Bring Back The Winning Streak?