Petition in SC seeks cancellation of Tamil Nadu Assembly polls alleging rampant vote-buying
New Delhi: A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, alleging large-scale voter bribery through cash, gifts, liquor and other inducements by major political parties and accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of failing to ensure free and fair polls.
The writ petition, filed by Tamil Nadu resident K.K. Ramesh, seeks a direction to the Election Commission of India and the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer to cancel the 2026 Assembly election in the state on the ground that the electoral process has been “vitiated” by rampant vote-buying.
In the plea, the petitioner alleged that major political parties, including the DMK, BJP, AIADMK, TVK, and the Congress, were indulging in bribing voters through distribution of cash and freebies such as laptops, colour televisions, grinders, mixers, fans, goats and cows.
Claiming that the ECI had failed to curb such practices despite being aware of the situation, the petition stated: “Bribery in elections destroys the very basis of a democracy. It is necessary to protect the purity and sanctity of the polls, which can be ensured only by taking stringent action against those indulging in such bribing activities.”
The plea contended that Tamil Nadu has been categorised by the ECI as an “expenditure-sensitive State” due to recurring high-value seizures during elections, but alleged that the poll body has not taken adequate preventive steps to stop vote-for-cash practices.
Referring to past election seizures, the petition said that during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, enforcement agencies seized cash, precious metals, drugs and liquor worth Rs 1,324.83 crore in the state, while seizures during the 2021 Assembly polls stood at around Rs 1,000 crore.
Alleging systemic voter inducement, the petitioner claimed that in several constituencies, voters were paid between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 per vote and that political parties had devised methods to distribute cash in a manner making refusal difficult.
“The atmosphere in Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies is seriously vitiated due to the use of money,” the plea said, adding that candidates elected through such a process “would not be true representatives of the electors”.
Seeking judicial intervention, the petitioner has prayed for directions to “cancel the Assembly Election of Tamil Nadu” and grant any other relief deemed fit in the interest of preserving democratic values.
The petition further sought any other appropriate orders or directions that the Supreme Court may deem fit in the interest of justice.
Notably, the broader issue of poll freebies is already under consideration before the apex court in a pending petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.
In its 2013 judgment in the Subramanian Balaji case, the top court had held that the distribution of free colour television sets by the DMK government after winning the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls could not be treated as a “corrupt practice” under the Representation of the People Act.