HC dismisses plea, upholds DMK MLA's election from Tindivanam
Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday upheld the election of DMK's Seethapathy from Tindivanam (reserved) assembly constituency by a margin of 101 votes in 2016.
Justice V Bharathidasan dismissed the election plea challenging the election filed by S P Rajendran who contested on an AIADMK ticket.
The petitioner had challenged the election on various grounds including improper receipt of votes and votes recorded in an EVM polling booth.
"The election of the candidate cannot be declared as void unless there is clear and strong evidence compelling the court to accept the contention of the defeated candidate," the court said, dismissing the plea.
It could be seen that the petitioner's objections had been duly communicated to the Election Commission of India, and the ECI after considering all the materials, directed the returning officer to proceed further with the election process and declare the results.
Hence, the returning officer has acted in accordance with law in counting the votes in EVMs and declared the results, the judge said.
"That apart, in the absence of any allegation regarding faulty EVMs, the ECI has taken a conscious decision not to order for a re-poll.
Further, in the absence of any strong circumstances, the contentions of the petitioner cannot be accepted to hold the election as void," the judge added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
