The Madras High Court on Saturday said that the powers conferred on the Election Commission (EC) and its officials did not appear to be arbitrary or against the constitutional guarantees to citizens.
Seizure of unaccounted cash, other movables huge quantity of gold, silver and unlicensed arms by the EC does not violate any fundamental right.
The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, made the observation while disposing of writ petitions by Patty B. Jeganathan, advocate, seeking to declare the EC's instructions of February 7 this year for the State Assembly elections ultra vires the Constitution, and to forbear election authorities and police from implementing certain instructions on ‘expenditure monitoring in elections'.
The court held that that the instructions did not amount to exercising excessive power by the EC or encroaching upon the other area occupied by Central or State legislations.
