The Madras High Court has ordered notice to the then State Election Commissioner and two other officials on a contempt petition against them for violating a court order of October last year relating to the local body elections of 2011.
A Division Bench, comprising Justices D. Murugesan and P.P.S. Janarthana Raja, said the notices to the then State Election Commissioner and Secretary of the Commission and Commissioner, Chennai Corporation, would be returnable by April 4.
In the petition, G. Poonkundran of Tiruvanmiyur said that by an order of October 14 while disposing of a batch of nearly 170 writ petitions, the court passed various directions.
In gross violation of the directions, the authorities had “deliberately and wantonly” failed to draw up any plan of action. They neglected to implement the court order in letter and spirit in the local body elections on October 17 last year for both the mayoral and councillor posts in Chennai. The authorities purposely avoided installing video cameras and did not explore the possibility of having web camera in all the polling booths in the city. On October 17, out of 4,876 booths for elections to 200 wards, cameras were not installed in 90 per cent of the booths. In none of the booths, police from other States were posted as per the court directions. Even the CRPF was not requisitioned.
