SC stays Madras HC proceedings on election of Kanimozhi as MP

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the proceedings initiated in the Madras High Court challenging election of DMK MP Kanimozhi from Thoothukudi constituency for allegedly concealing PAN card details of her husband.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya passed the order on plea by the MP. The top court issued notice to those who challenged her election.

Kanimozhi was represented by senior advocate P Wilson and advocate Joseph Aristotle. On December 9, 2019, the top court had refused to stay the hearing before the High Court.

A Santhana Kumar, a voter, had filed the election petition in the HC. Kanimozhi had contended that her husband was a foreign citizen and did not have PAN card.

In her petition, she contended Kumar, who challenged her election, did not disclose why acceptance of her nomination paper was improper.

“He has simply chanted the words like mantra, even though she had disclosed that her spouse does not have a PAN number. He has miserably failed to understand the provisions of Form 26 and has filed the election petition based on vague assertions bereft of facts,” her plea stated.

The petitionerdid not disclose that he was a member of BJP and contested TN Assembly elections in 2016, Kanimozhi said. 

She had won the LS polls with a historic margin of 3,47,209 votes on elections held on April 18, 2019.

Former TN BJP president Tamilisai Soundarrajan, who lost the poll, also filed an election petition against Kanimozhi but withdrew it subsequently on her appointment as Governor of Telangana.