Madras HC Floor Test Order Stayed By Supreme Court: TVK MLA Allowed To Vote

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Madras High Court’s interim order that had barred TVK MLA Sreenivasa Sethupathi from participating in the Tamil Nadu Assembly floor test.

A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice Vijay Bishnoi also stayed further proceedings before the Madras High Court in the writ petition filed by DMK candidate KR Periakaruppan challenging Sethupathi’s election victory.

The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Sethupathi against the Madras High Court’s order restraining him from casting his vote during the crucial trust vote in the Assembly.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Sethupathi, strongly criticized the High Court’s decision, calling it “grossly erroneous.” He also questioned the urgency with which the writ petition was heard on a Sunday after being filed on a Saturday evening.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court bench raised concerns over the maintainability of the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution in an election-related dispute. The judges observed that an election petition is the legally prescribed remedy in such matters.

“This is atrocious. The High Court itself says the remedy lies in an election petition and still entertains the writ petition,” Justice Sandeep Mehta remarked during the proceedings.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing DMK candidate Periakaruppan, defended the High Court’s intervention, arguing that the case involved extraordinary circumstances. He informed the court that a postal ballot cast in favour of his client from constituency number 185 was mistakenly sent to another constituency with a similar name. According to Rohatgi, if the vote had been counted correctly, the election result would have ended in a tie.

Calling the matter unprecedented, Rohatgi urged the court to consider the exceptional facts involved in the dispute.

After hearing both sides, the Supreme Court granted Rohatgi time to file a counter-affidavit while staying the High Court’s interim order. During the hearing, Singhvi informed the bench that the Assembly floor test proceedings were already underway. Rohatgi responded by stating that the DMK was planning to walk out of the trust vote, suggesting Sethupathi’s participation may not significantly affect the outcome.

The controversy stems from a razor-thin electoral victory in which Sethupathi defeated Periakaruppan by just one vote. The DMK leader later approached the Madras High Court, alleging that a postal ballot cast in his favour had been wrongly delivered to another constituency and therefore excluded from counting.

Earlier in the day, the Madras High Court had restrained Sethupathi from voting, observing that allowing him to participate while the dispute remained pending could potentially impact the stability of the government. The court had held that the “balance of convenience” favored temporarily stopping his participation in the floor test.


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