CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has declared illegal the election of Rama Ramesh as president of the Eramalur Village Panchayat in Tiruvannamalai district.A division bench comprising justices D Murugesan and P P S Janarthana Raja, which declared the election illegal, however, refused to declare Meeradevi Tharani Venthan, the petitioner in the case, elected to the post.The bench also directed the Election Commission (EC) to hold fresh elections to the village panchayat. While so, the bench made it clear that the EC should ensure that none of the officials, who were entrusted with the election work, be deployed for the fresh election. A new set of officers should be deployed, it added. The bench was partly allowing a petition from Meeradevi challenging the election of Rama. According to the petitioner, she had secured 473 votes in the elections held on October 19, 2011. Rama obtained only 468 votes. Before declaring the results, Rama’s husband Ramesh, accompanied by two others, snatched away the ballot papers and destroyed them. They also assaulted the election officials and thereby successfully prevented the Returning Officer (RO) from announcing the results. However, the RO ordered re-counting of the votes polled and declared Rama as the elected. Hence, the present election petition. The bench said if there was any violent incident while counting, the RO should have brought it to notice, but he didn’t. Recounting could also be ordered only after a written complaint from the contestants. But there was no complaint in writing.
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