Madras High Court: Dismisses PIL on Resigning MLA Bye-Election Expenses

The Madras High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that had urged it to direct the Election Commission of India (ECI) to introduce a mechanism requiring legislators who voluntarily resign from their seats to bear the expenses of resulting by-elections [Suthan Vs Union of India].The petitioner had also called for a five-year ban on such resigning legislators from contesting in elections State Assembly or Parliament elections.A Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, however, observed that these are not domains where the judiciary should intervene. "We are being asked to design a punitive and financial regime that would operate as a fresh disqualification under the Constitution of India and would curtail the statutory right to contest an election. In our considered opinion, the same is a matter of legislative policy, not of judicial direction," it said. CJ SA Dharmadhikari and Justice Arul MuruganIn this regard, the Court noted that neither the Constitution of India nor the Representation of the People Act, 1951, presently imposes such punitive consequences on legislators who resign. “The right to resign a legislative seat is itself a facet of the constitutional scheme governing membership of a House, and cannot be burdened with extra-statutory conditions by judicial order, however sound the underlying concern may be," it held. The PIL before the Court was filed by advocate K Suthan after six AIADMK MLAs elec