Court upholds Alagiri’s election as MP in 2009 polls

Chennai: The Madras high court has upheld the election of M.K. Alagiri, DMK candidate and son of DMK president M. Karunanidhi, from the Madurai constituency during the May 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

“The election cannot be set aside on presumptions and surmises or conjectures. Clear and cogent pro­of in support of the alle­gat­io­ns is essential. In this ca­se, the evidence let in by the petitioner runs well sho­rt of establishing the cha­rges levelled against the returned candidate M.K. Alagiri,” said Justice V. Dhanapalan while dismissing the election petition filed by A. Lazer, who substituted himself in place of defeated CPM candidate and original deceased petitioner, P. Mohan.

Based on newspapers reports, the petitioner alle­ged various malpractices against Alagiri, incl­uding distribution of money, sare­es and dhotis, besides mi­sus­e of official machinery. Th­­e judge added that in vie­w of non-examination of cr­u­cial witnesses and inco­nsistencies in the stateme­nts of witnesses and als­o that the petitioner was only the substituted petitioner, who has no direct knowledge of the malpractices al­le­ged by the original pet­itio­ner, it is difficult for the court to conclude that Ala­g­iri resorted to corrupt practices.

The judge said the auth­ors of newspaper reports we­re not examined on the iss­ue of seizure of sarees and dhotis and misuse of of­ficial machinery also had not been proved. Though prosecution witnesses had deposed on certain incidents of distr­ibut­io­n of money, sarees and dhotis… their failure to ex­a­­mine those who recei­ved them was fatal to the case of the petitioner, the judge added.