The Madras High Court on Thursday held that it cannot direct the Election Commission of India to recover the expenses of a rescinded election from the candidates who, by engaging in corrupt practices, become a reason for the commission to recall the election notification at the last moment after having spent a considerable amount of public funds to conduct the polls.
Dismissing a batch of writ petitions, Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M. Sundar said such a direction could not be issued to the EC in the absence of a specific law on the subject. “Maybe the Election Commission, with its wide-ranging powers to ensure free and fair elections, might make a recommendation for suitable enactment/amendment of law,” they added.
“It is true that unscrupulous candidates contesting elections should not be allowed to go scot-free when they disrupt elections and thereby cause huge wasteful expenditure to the State exchequer. However, this public interest litigation cannot be stretched to take over all acts of governance,” the judges said.
“In a country governed by a Constitution, of which separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary is a basic feature, this court cannot take over legislative or executive functions. It is for the legislature to enact a law to provide for recovery of wasteful expenditure of public money caused by wrongful acts of contesting candidates,” the judges said.
