Corpn. strongroom sealed for safe custody of ballots

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, OCT. 30. The strongroom in the Chennai Corporation, where ballot boxes and other polling materials pertaining to ward 155 are kept, was sealed today following a direction by the Principal Sessions Judge, Mr. S. Ashok Kumar.

The judge was hearing a petition from the losing candidate from the segment, Mr. C. Duraishanmugam (DMK), seeking to order a recount of all polled votes, and also to appoint an advocate- commissioner to take possession or be in-charge of the election materials.

He also alleged that his rival, Mr. Karate Thiagarajan (AIADMK), had resorted to booth-capturing and chased away agents of other candidates from both polling and counting centres.

Allowing the petition in part, Mr. Ashok Kumar directed the Registrar of the City Civil Courts, Mr. M. Mony, to seal the room. The court officer was asked to produce the facsimile of the seal before the court immediately after affixing his seal.

But Mr. Ashok Kumar had to pass the order only from his chamber as groups of DMK and AIADMK lawyers nearly came to blows after an acrimonious verbal exchange in the court hall. When the ugly scenes seemed to go out of control further, Mr. Ashok Kumar left the hall in a huff.

In his order, he said, ``the petitioner apprehends that with the connivance of officials, ballots and other records may be tampered with. It is the duty of the court to erase such apprehension by passing an order for the safe custody of the ballots and relevant records''.

By sealing the room where the materials were kept in safe custody, the apprehension in the minds of the petitioner and the general public would be erased. ``No one will be prejudiced by sealing the room''.

Mr. Ashok Kumar also asked the Assistant Commissioner at the B-4 police station to give ``sufficient security to the court registrar while executing the order''.

Earlier, Mr. T.V. Ramanujam, senior counsel for Mr. Thiagarajan, objected to the petition on the ground that despite his being the aggrieved party he had not been served with a copy of the petition. Stating that the very nature and secrecy of the electoral process had been challenged, he wanted the judge to return the petition as not maintainable.

Mr. Ramanujam set the tone for all the subsequent scenes when he asked the judge ``not to argue for the petitioner'' and kept repeating that something was wrong somewhere. Pulling him up for remarks, Mr. Ashok Kumar advised him not to cast aspersions on the court itself.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ravichandran, counsel for the returning officer, submitted that he needed a week's time to study the petition and file a counter. When the judge wondered why he needed a whole week, Mr. Ravichandran asked for a day's time so that the Advocate-General could appear in the court.

The ambience inside the court was already volatile. It became a full-throated slanging match among the advocates when Mr. Ashok Kumar conveyed the petitioner's apprehension that the intervening night could be used for committing further malpractices.

Advocates in both camps were seen rushing for each other's jugular, and only some saner elements in the crowd prevailed on them. When things seemed to go out of control, the judge left the court hall and passed the orders in his chamber.

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