The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Teachers’ forum prevented from holding elections

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Sunday, Apr 27, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Teachers’ forum prevented from holding elections

K.T. Sangameswaran

A chaotic situation has arisen: Justice
Elections, if held now, will affect the interests of organisation

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has granted interim injunction restraining the Tamilaga Asiriar Kootani from conducting office-bearers’ elections.

Justice S. Rajeswaran said a chaotic situation had arisen. Elections, if held now, would affect the interests of the organisation and its members.

M. Appasamy and nine others, teachers of panchayat union schools and members of the federation, submitted that as per the bylaws, 10 office-bearers had to be elected.

The executive committee was empowered to conduct elections and fix the time and date for appointing election commissioners.

However, the office-bearers convened the governing body last month and decided to hold elections at Dindigul on April 19. The decision was published with the office-bearers’ signatures affixed.

Conflicting directives

The treasurer, a signatory, asked all district secretaries to hand over the subscription with the membership list to him so that the elections could be held on April 19.

The general secretary issued another communication saying he was empowered to convene the governing body and asked all secretaries to be present in Chennai with the membership list and the subscription for holding the elections. The notifications, the petition stated, were illegal.

The teachers had filed a suit seeking to declare the notification null and void and an injunction directing the office-bearers to convene a meeting of the State executive committee.

Along with the suit, an application was filed for an interim injunction restraining the respondents from conducting the elections.

After ordering notice to the respondents, the trial court adjourned the matter to April 24.

Aggrieved by the order, the petitioners filed a civil revision petition.

Granting the interim injunction, Mr. Justice Rajeswaran said a perusal of the bylaws would make it clear that there were three committees, and it was the executive committee that had to conduct the elections for office-bearers.

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