Can the court bring in a legislative amendment regarding a ban on MLAs resigning from office and contesting by-elections? asked the Madras High Court, and it has reserved judgment in the case seeking recovery of election expenses.
Within a short period after the election results were announced, because MLAs disregarded the people’s verdict and resigned from their posts for political reasons, when they file nomination papers to contest the by-election, Chennai Saidapet-based lawyer Sudhan had filed a public interest litigation seeking an order directing the Election Commission to frame an appropriate procedure requiring the election expense to be deposited.
In that petition, the petitioner had requested that a ban be imposed on holding by-elections for the Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies until this case is concluded.
When the case came up for hearing today before a bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Aravind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arulmurugan, the petitioner’s side argued that, without any reason, they resigned within two weeks of being elected and are contesting the election as candidates from another party. Therefore, the election expenses should be recovered so as to hold them accountable for those costs. Since there is no law for that, the court can issue an order.
If an MLA resigns from his post and stays at home, no one is going to question that. But if he contests the election again, the Election Commission should frame rules taking this into account. It was argued that unless an amendment is brought in to recover election expenses, what would happen if all MLAs resigned altogether?
On the Election Commission’s side, it was pointed out that after the election results are announced, the Election Commission has no role. It was stated that this case is not fit for hearing.
During the hearing, the judges interjected, asking whether, in the absence of any law regarding recovering election expenses from MLAs who have resigned and imposing a ban on them from contesting elections, the court can bring about a legislative amendment. Only Parliament can enact laws. The court can only examine whether that law is valid or not.
The government cannot be ordered to enact a law. When an MLA resigns and contests the election again, the Election Commission can be asked to disclose the details of the expenses incurred in the previous election. But it cannot be asked to recover that expense from candidates contesting again in the election. Likewise, it cannot impose a ban on contesting elections for a specified period, and the judgment in the case was deferred.