Ashok Kumar won't stay Thiagarajan candidature

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, OCT. 29. The Principal Sessions Judge, Mr. S. Ashok Kumar, today declined to stay the candidature of Mr. `Karate' Thiagarajan (AIADMK) in the Chennai Deputy Mayor election, scheduled for October 31.

Refusing to pass any interim order ``in the absence of prima facie proof'' for poll-eve malpractice, Mr. Ashok Kumar, however, posted a petition filed by the losing candidate, Mr. C. Duraishanmugam (DMK), to Tuesday for further hearing.

The petitioner, alleging irregularities at polling as well as counting centres, said that in the wee hours of October 22 a gang of 50 armed AIADMK men barged into the counting hall at the Guindy Engineering College and chased away other candidates and their agents.

He demanded that the declaration of the election of Mr. Thiagarajan be set aside and recount of all votes polled in Ward Number 155 be ordered.

In the course of the heated arguments from both sides, Mr. Ashok Kumar asked, ``can it be justified to prevent an elected man from discharging his duties?'', adding that unless it was proved by acceptable evidence he would not pass any interim order, including stay or postponement of Deputy Mayor election.

Allaying the fears of the petitioner, the judge said if the charges against Mr. Thiagarajan were proved he would be ousted from both the Deputy Mayor (if he gets elected) and the councillor posts.

He also chided the petitioner's counsel for asking the court to call for all the records, including the report of the polling official and the ballot boxes, without even filing the required petition.

When both Mr. Thiagarajan and his counsel hesitated to give their consent for bringing the impugned materials to court custody, the judge gave them a day's time to come out with their views, but not without a warning that the court had powers to call for all records even without their consent. ``If your hands are clean you need not worry,'' Mr. Ashok Kumar remarked.

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